Strange Love
by Nelson Bannaba
Summary: At eighteen, Rin has found herself in a relationship with a youkai. However, her life is certainly not turning out the way she expected! [JakenRin Lemon] COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha._

_This story takes place at least a decade after Rin first began traveling with Sesshoumaru-sama and Jaken. She is now a young woman, but still very happy in her place as the ward of Sesshoumaru-sama._ _I'm a fan of Rin/Sess. I'm a fan of Sess/justaboutanybody. However, this happens to be a Adult Rin/Jaken, so if that bothers you, please stop reading now. This is in the Rin/Sess category because Sesshoumaru plays a major role in the story (that and they don't have a category for Jaken) If you're brave/have strong stomach/are in love with Jaken, then by all means please continue reading: sit back, have a few laughs and enjoy!_

Sesshoumaru-sama had not been back for Rin in a very long time. He'd never left her alone for so many months before. Rin marked the passing of time with little 'x's on the tree just off the castle grounds, but she'd lost count after the fifth month.

"How long has Sesshoumaru-sama been away, Master Jaken?"

"Leave me alone, you annoying girl."

Rin turned away from the small, grumpy imp who was slumped against under the very tree where she made her daily marks, his ever-present staff of heads across his lap. Master Jaken had been her sole companion for…she finally decided that ten months seemed about right.

His company, grumpy or not, did not bother her. She was accustomed to being left for long periods with her Lord's loyal servant. After all these years, she rather enjoyed his company. Yet still, she ached for another person to talk to, ached to see another face. The two had not been far from the castle grounds since Sesshoumaru had left, having plenty of supplies to last them through the winter. So it was just she and Jaken.

Rin sang a song idly to herself as she carefully made her way through the brush and into the forest in search of the late summer mushrooms that she hoped might still be growing. At least, she mused, that would be a welcome change for her dulled palate. Jaken, as well, would appreciate this treat, the fleshy brown mushrooms being among his favorites. He preferred them raw, however, but Rin had in her mind a skewer full of juice-filled beauties baked slowly in the hot rocks of the fire.

"Jaken, prepare a fire. I will be back in a couple of hours, okay."

Jaken did not answer. He was already snoring away peacefully in the noonday sun.

--------------

Rin returned as the sun dipped low and red at the horizon, her face and hands grubby and hair pulled almost completely free of its bindings by low-hanging branches and brush. Her face held a contented expression, however, since she was holding a basket full of shitake and woodear mushrooms. Her foray had surpassed her expectations. She paused for a moment on the slope just off of the forest, looking down at the collection of gray and brown buildings she had called home for the last eight years. She closed her eyes and imagined Sesshoumaru-sama's white robes and silvery hair, shining like a star among the twilight landscape.

She sighed, trailing her finger across her lips in a sensual yet innocent gesture. How many times she had imagined running her fingers through those silken locks and over the magenta stripes that decorated his pale, smooth features. Those stripes fascinated her, perhaps because without them, he might have appeared otherwise human. The stripes always reminded her that he was different. He would always be there for her, would never abandon her. He was the eternal Sesshoumaru-sama, immortal and unswerving in his purpose. A human might lose interest, might be swayed away from her by any number of temptations and forget his charge. A human might die. Sesshoumaru-sama would never die. With him, she need not fear—not physical danger, nor the danger of being left alone again.

"Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin whispered, a cool, evening breeze from valley below whipping her dark hair completely free of its bindings. To anyone watching, the young girl, though her face was smudged with dirt, glowed with the soft radiance of youth, her beauty unmistakable under the disheveled appearance.

"Rin, Riiin, where have you been off to for so long!" Rin was startled out of her reverie by Jaken's raspy cry. "You ungrateful girl, I've been searching for you for hours. Why do you always insist on wandering off when Sesshoumaru-sama is absent?" Jaken's scolding continued, but Rin had long ago learned to block out the high-pitched admonishments. As Jaken joined her by her side, hoping up and down in the height of his tirade, Rin shook her errant locks away from her face and started walking towards home.

Watching the girl depart, her dark hair trailing down her back and waving with each step, Jaken finally fell silent. He had been her only spectator as she had stood on the hill, appearing unusually radiant with her hair tossing freely in the wind and eyes closed in a peaceful expression. _She is becoming a lovely young woman, that one has. I wonder if Sesshoumaru-sama has noticed. Her eighteenth birthday has passed and I do not even think she herself even realized it. I would not think that he would care for a human for so long. She is pleasant enough, I suppose. _

He shook his head and trailed after her in uncharacteristic silence.

_  
AN: Reviews are welcome. Flames will be petted and adored lovingly. I may fall in love with you if you flame, especially if you threaten me in attempt to make me quit writing._


	2. Chapter 2

"Master Jaken"

"Yes Rin"

The two of them were lying in the grass staring up at the sky. It was one of the few warm days left before the coming chill invaded the green and peaceful land and both of the companions shared a common wish to enjoy this, possibly the last, day out of doors. As well, the clouds were amazing this day. The cottony white clouds filled the sky in all shapes and sizes. It was a perfect day to be lazy. A perfect day to dream.

_Perhaps today Sesshoumaru-sama will come._

"Master Jaken," Rin repeated, "I think that cloud looks like a huge elephant."

"What do you know of elephants, child," he snapped, "and anyway, that cloud most certainly looks like a giant fish."

"Everything is fish to you, Master Jaken."

"Hmph."

"Look! There's a rabbit! Don't you see it?"

Jaken chuckled at her childish enthusiasm, "Looks more a cat, I think."

"Yes, I think you're right. I can see its whiskers. You're so clever, Master Jaken."

"Yes Rin, I am glad that you recognize my superior intelligence."

Rin grinned a sneaky grin. "Oh, yes, very clever. What kind of cloud is that over there," she gestured, pointing towards and small cloud low to the horizon.

"I think that is a WHAT!" Jaken sputtered as, quite suddenly, he found himself drenched with a dipper full of water from their drinking bucket. "Rin, stop that! What is wrong with you!"?

Rin giggled. "So now who's the clever one? If you are so smart, you should have seen my trick coming."

Still sputtering, Jaken jumped at the girl, who lithely scooted aside. After almost ten years in the company of youkai she had learned a few things. As a result of her maneuver, the imp tumbled forward, rolling into the water bucket and splashing more of the cool water all over the two of them. . "Just wait until I get my hands on you, You, You…"

Rin tilted her head back and laughed hysterically.

---------------

After dinner, Jaken brought up the subject of Rin's missed birthday.

"Oh, yes, I had forgotten." Rin's expression became sullen.

Jaken watched the girl pout, strangely bothered by her change in mood. _I must do something to cheer her. It is not every day that a girl turns eighteen. I suppose these things are important to young women._

First he would try a taunt. He had learned that taunts generally brought her out of any sulk. She never passed up the chance to exchange insults. "Rin, stop that. It's making you ugly." She shot Jaken a glare for this insult, but then her eyes turned down once again.

He tried again. "Rin, your birthday is a special day. We must find a way to celebrate." This got her attention. She looked up; a hopeful, pretty smile had replaced her frown.

Jaken began noisily searching for something from amidst the food supplies.  
"Ah, here is the perfect thing for a celebration!"

Rin's eyes lit up, "Sake, for my birthday. Jaken that's a wonderful idea. Thank you, Master Jaken." Rin grabbed the imp up and hugged him tightly.

"Rin let me go this instant! Stop that." Rin laughed and squeezed harder before dropping him and pouring herself a glass of sake.

The two drank two containers of the alcohol between them lying on a blanket on the cool grass just outside the castle walls. Jaken was the first to slip into unconsciousness, mumbling something about feeding the cat. Rin lay there for a few minutes, staring at the stars, which strangely enough were spinning around her in the sky. _I don't remember them ever doing that, _Rin thought as she drifted to sleep.

Rin was dreaming of those stars as she vaguely felt a warm sensation against her chest. The stars in her dream soon turned into Sesshoumaru-sama's long, flowing hair. The silvery locks began to flow across her chest and arms, caressing her with soft, feathery touches. Rin reached out to pull him closer, nuzzling deeper into his silken hair. A warmth spread through her body, ending and then pooling in the area around her thighs.

Instinctively, Rin wrapped her legs around him and the sensations became even more intense. She let her hands explore and felt the touch of smooth, bare skin. A thrill of excitement more intense than the last shot through her. In turn, she felt hands caressing her arms, moving to her shoulders, across her back, and over her breasts. It was almost too much for her. She had never before known that the simple touch of a hand could bring so much pleasure. But as pleasurable as his hands on her breasts felt, she wanted them lower. She grabbed his hand and placed it at the very point where all those sensations were originating, holding it between her thighs.

Rin tilted her head back and moaned, "Sesshoumaru-sama."

"Oh, yes, Ses-SHO-maru-sama," a grating voice repeated.

Suddenly, Rin pushed herself away and up on her elbows. She felt like she had been dunked in a bucket of ice water.

"Master Jaken!" Rin's voice was shrill, almost a screech.

Jaken immediately rolled into a sitting position, "What the hell, Sesshoumaru-sama? I mean Rin?"

Neither said anything or looked at one another for a long while. The crickets chirped merrily, a few night birds called to one another across the trees. Finally, Rin spoke, "what the hell did you think you were doing?" She still couldn't look at him.

"I, I," Jaken's mind was still obviously befuddled by the effects of the alcohol, but finally he blurted out semi-coherently, "BUT I THOUGHT YOU WERE SESSHOUMARU-SAMA!" He fell once again to the ground and started pounding it with his fists and head.

Rin could not help but giggle at his tirade, her embarrassment subsiding, "Me too."

She lay back again on the blanket. "I was dreaming and I thought that," Rin stopped here, her embarrassment returning as heat once again pooled between her thighs at the memory.

The two lay there in silence again. This time it was Jaken who spoke. "You know, Rin, we could pretend that we had never woken up after all."

"What?" Rin could not believe her ears. Did Jaken just say what I think he did?

"We were both touching and….well, it did feel good after all," his voiced became soft and wheedling, "well Rin, you know what I'm trying to say, don't you?"

Her face burned with shame. But after a moment or two of consideration, his words, and what he was offering, began to make weird sense to her still drunken mind, especially when she factored in her body's state of arousal. It had felt good. Very good. And there was not anyone else to do this sort of thing with. _Why not_, a little voice inside asked.

Rin rolled over on her side and scooted towards Jaken and into a spooning position.

"Mmm," Jaken murmured, pulling her closer, his warm breath tickled the back of her neck. It's convenient that she's fairly short, for a human, he thought as tugged her hair free of its braid, reveling in its softness before turning his attentions to the soft skin of her shoulders.

_AN: cough, cough Ahem. Where are my flames? You'd better send them on or….else._


	3. Chapter 3

_Warning: Jaken/Rin lemon_

_AN: You people reading this are sick, sick, sick! And I'm the sickest of them all since I am writing this story. Read, review, flame, whatever. Just glad that you are enjoying yourself. I am. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha._

Rin woke up cold and stiff, shortly before dawn. She experimentally flexed her legs as her senses slowly returned to her. She realized that she was lying outside on a rough blanket, rather than in her own bed. And not all of her was cold, in fact, parts of her were actually quite warm. For a moment, she simply enjoyed the sensation of the warmth against her back and hips, as if there were an exceptionally warm body nestled against her from behind. She could hear a steady, rhythmic snoring which was slowly drawing her back into a deep sleep.

Her eyes flew open. She knew that snore.

_Jaken!_

The events of last night flooded back to her, causing her stomach to experience a sickening drop.

_It did feel good, after all? What would it hurt if we…_

No, it was just a dream. It must have been. No need to panic. Rin slowly twisted her head around to look behind her, careful not to move too fast and wake the snoring imp.

She could see the top of Jaken's bare green head snuggled against her back. She craned her head and looked a little further down. Jaken was half-naked, his kimono open to the waist and his pants rumbled and unevenly situated about his hips.

Rin sat bolt upright, suppressing a high-pitched scream, and scrambled up and off the blanket and towards the nearest building. Clutching at her heaving stomach, she rushed, still stumbling, towards what served as an indoor bathing area. She almost didn't make it.

She needn't have worried about having woken the imp, though in her frightful haste, the thought never actually crossed her mind. Jaken only mumbled something about slow-roasted dragonflies and shifted himself noisily, still fast asleep.

"_Rin," he hissed in her ear, "do you like this Rin?"_

Rin thought she would never stop retching. The contents of her stomach had been completely emptied and despite this the horrible retching continued.

_His hand pressed against the folds of her kimono, working its way through the outer layer. She could feel the warmth of his fingers through the material as they pressed experimentally. She gasped at the delicious warmth those ministrations were causing with each gentle caress of his fingertips. "Mmmm," she moaned, lost in a heady feeling threatening to overwhelm her. _

_Rin was curled up into a ball on the smooth, cool wood of the bare floor. She was shaking and her stomach was still trying to flip-flop. Her emotions were shifting between a cold, lost feeling deep in her gut to sporadic rushes of guilty desire as she remembered one detail after another from her nighttime sexual encounter._

_Why did it have to be Jaken? Why him? Things will never be the same again. What if Sesshoumaru-sama finds out? _

Even the thought of Sesshoumaru-sama did not bring on the worshipful and blissful feelings she normally experienced when she reflected on the beautiful youkai lord. Instead she felt shameful, and a little fearful.

_What had they done?_

Rin picked up herself off of the wooden floor and removed her stained clothing, preparing to clean herself off. She felt dirty, unclean.

_Rin's head was still spinning delightfully even as the waves of her orgasm subsided. Jaken was fumbling around energetically behind her, cursing something under his breath. Her eyes drifted closed as she felt his warm hands pushing the layers of her clothing up her legs and bunching them up around her thighs. He backed off from her for a moment, causing a chill from the night air to reach her bare legs. She could feel goose bumps all over, but they felt nice. Everything felt nice at the moment. Jaken shifted again and she could feel the warmth of his body pressed once again against her bare thighs. _

_The next sensation shocked her out of her blissful repose. There was a warm, sharp object pressing against her back. Rin quickly realized what was happening. He was about to have sex with her. She did not move to stop him. She was still aroused enough to enjoy it and curious enough about sex to pay careful attention._

_Rin shook her head, the wet cloth in her hand all but forgotten as she let her head slump forward, her long, dark hair making a protective veil about her face. These recollections from the night before had to stop. She was already in a fragile state and the best recourse seemed to be to push them to the back of her mind to be dealt with at a later date. Or, better yet, she would simply pretend that last night had never happened._

That thought cheered her immediately. She began to hum a half-remembered tune and sat up to finish scrubbing her soiled underclothing.

-----------------

After a week had passed, Jaken was growing tired of Rin's forced smiles and obvious reluctance to linger in his presence. Sesshoumaru-sama had not yet returned and Jaken was feeling a mutinously strong desire to lie with Rin just once more before his Lord did finally return.

It had been so incredibly astonishing, that he could lie with a human and derive such pleasure. He could not get the feel of her soft skin out of his mind.

He knew it was wrong, but what could he do about it now? A little voice inside his head kept insisting that he should get her out of his system, and quickly, before more trouble than was necessary was caused by their strange tryst.

He stood at the entrance to her room now, wondering if being with her again would be all that was needed. He could see her resting form silhouetted in the moonlight which filtered through the rice paper.

"Rin," he whispered, simply. There was no response from her.

"Rin," he said a little more insistently.

"Go away, Jaken," she finally responded in a soft voice, "Let me sleep."

Jaken turned away; cursing her, cursing himself under his breath. As he stalked down the hallway towards his own sleeping chambers, his cunning mind was quickly formulating a plan. _Yes_, he thought, _she will be mine again, at least for one more night. _


	4. Chapter 4

_  
AN: To MY MIND: you have my attention now. I could really use a good lay this evening, so since you're offering…get your sexy butt over hear and do me!_

_  
Okay, okay - I really do have something to say about the rest of this story. I am currently in the middle of writing two other stories listed under different names. Yes, I felt compelled to put this red-headed step-child of a story far away from my other fiction. So, my predicament here is, this story is giving me all sorts of problems –nervous tics, a sick stomach, and such- it is not easy to write Jaken/Rin sex scenes. On top of that, last night I was doing strange things with my child's 'Yoda' action figure and her Barbie that I just should not share with strangers._

_  
To my three readers: Feel the power of the staff of two heads!_

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

Jaken scanned the mossy undergrowth of the forest glen, his sharp eyes recognizing and mentally categorizing many of the plant and fungi growing among the roots of a huge magnolia. His bulbous eyes narrowed and he sniffed slightly, _I recall that the particular plant I am searching for has this same bitter scent, but I cannot seem to spot it here._

Jaken's eyes were distracted for a moment by an insect passing along the edge of his vision. He swatted at the fly comically with his oversized staff, causing him to stumble, off-balanced by the weight of it, across the gnarled tree roots.

"Blast!" he swore, rubbing a stubbed toe and suddenly he spotted the bitter herb. Grasping it greedily between his thumb and forefinger, Jaken ripped it from soft earth and held it up to a band of sunlight to confirm its identity. _For Rin, _he thought eagerly.

---------------

Jaken had taken great care to steep the leaves for several hours to achieve full potency. He required a fairly potent dose, since he would not be able to utilize much of the bitter-tasting liquid in Rin's soup without altering the taste overmuch. He watched her warily, his eyes narrow slits, as she tasted her soup daintily, and making certain it was not too hot to drink.

"Thank you for making something new for dinner, Master Jaken," Rin said, her eyes cast downwards towards her soup and away from the imp.

"Think nothing of it, Rin," Jaken replied evenly, trying to appear as normal as possible.

_I cannot allow her to suspect anything, not after all that careful planning and preparation.  
_  
"Jaken"

The imp almost jumped at this address, lately Rin had hardly spoken at mealtimes. Once the adequate attempts at formalities were completed, Rin and Jaken generally ate without speaking, and at least on Rin's part, without looking at one another.

"Yes, what is it," Jaken answered with a gulp of his own soup, worried that she was about to reject her portion.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about," Rin trailed off here and left him to wonder which direction she might be going with this apology. Rin picked up her water cup and glanced over it at Jaken, her dark eyes seeming to shimmer in the light of the half-moon looming large and bright over the horizon. He was pinned beneath the weight of her gaze, and he felt as if he were held there like some sort of squirming bug in a child's insect collection. "I'm sorry that we let things go so far the other evening," she finally forced out, her voice sounding rehearsed and very unlike her normal vivacious self.

"Rin you don't have anything to apologize…," he was interrupted in mid-sentence by Rin's terse reply.

"Yes I do, Jaken!." As soon as the sharply spoken words had crossed her lips, Rin looked peevish. "I did not mean for it to come out like that," Rin continued softly, taking another long sip of her soup, "it's just, we both are to blame for what happened."

"To blame? Rin, it is not as if we committed a crime."

"But Lord Sesshoumaru," Rin interjected.

"But nothing. Sesshoumaru-sama has not forbid either of us to engage in those activities. To concern himself with such deeds would certainly be below him," Jaken explained imperiously, though his confidence was marred by a niggling doubt in the back of his mind, _perhaps he would not concern himself with me, but Rin is another thing entirely. _

"I suppose you are right," Rin conceded, looking down again, but her tone belied the meaning.

"Do not say things unless you mean them, Rin."

At this, Rin looked up, watery tears making her eyes shine even more brightly in the evening's dull light.

"Rin"

"Jaken, don't say anything. You are my friend. My best friend, in fact. You know me better than anyone, except perhaps," Rin paused here.

"Sesshoumaru-sama," Jaken completed for her, adding softly. "Yes, yes, I know." Any further words he might have used to convince her or himself that should not feel regret died on his tongue at the despairing tone in her words. Closing his eyes, he sat there for a long while contemplating the emotions behind these simple words. Though he did not consider her shallow, it was not often that she expressed deeper emotions or allowed melancholy to overtake her naturally sunny disposition. At least outwardly, he reminded himself, since he was sure she had been hiding many things behind that tight smile she had been giving him of late.

Unable to sort out the mystery of her newly altered and volatile emotions, nor even his own, regarding their changed relationship, Jaken sighed and opened his eyes, preparing to offer some words of comfort.

Despite himself, what he saw came as a shock. Rin's unconscious form was slumped over to the side, her knees still tucked underneath.

He sat there, unmoving, watching her sleep off the effects of the root. 

---------------------

_Ugh. What's wrong with my head. It's pounding._

Rin closed her eyes against the sunlight which seemed to be leaking through her eyelids and burning holes in her brain.

_Ouch. I don't remember sunlight being this painful. _

She gave herself a little more time to adjust and gradually the pounding in her head subsided to a dull thudding. _What was I doing last night, _she wondered._ Did I drink more sake? _She tried to recall the events of the previous evening and could not remember any alcohol, only soup.

_Soup,_ something tugged at her memory, Jaken had cooked a new type of soup. It had been strangely bitter, but she had deemed it impolite to say so, especially considering the newfound tension in their relationship. But there was something suspicious about his actions last night.

Jaken's soup was always delicious, she suddenly realized, he was an excellent cook and would never hesitate to complain and berate himself if his food had not turned out well. But he had said nothing. Her suspicions were quickly being replaced by an angry feeling of betrayal.

"Jaken!" She screamed out and opened her eyes, finding the subject of her wrath sitting directly in front of her.

"Hentai! What did you do to me!" Rin jumped up and angrily pointed a finger at the imp.

"Absolutely nothing, Rin"

His calm demeanor and simple words caught her off guard and her anger dissipated, replaced by confusion.

"What do you mean 'nothing'? You gave me some sort of sleeping potion in my soup, did you not?"

"I mean that I did nothing while you slept," he answered quietly. "It is shameful. I did give you the root, planning on having my way with you again."

Rin's mouth tightened into a thin, hard line at this statement, but Jaken only continued softly, "I could not bring myself to touch you, not against your will, without your consent. As you said last night, I also consider you as a friend. I am ashamed that I would have considered such a thing and ask only for your forgiveness, if you are able to forgive my lustful behavior."

"Jaken," Rin seemed to be contemplating something, "of course I can forgive you, but why would you do this to me?"

Jaken did not hesitate in answering, "After our intimacy, I have to say that I have wanted to experience this with you again. I may not be human, I may be an imp, but I am male. And also I kept hoping," Jaken paused here, causing Rin to understand that his next words were not easily expressed. "I also, like you, miss our uncomplicated friendship. A part of me also wishes that things could have stayed as they were. I kept hoping that by our being intimate one more time, I could get it out of my system, so to speak, and we could forget it ever happened and things could once again return to normal between us."

"I would hardly call your having your way with me while I was unconscious as our 'being intimate'," Rin cried, her voice now high-pitched with girlish indignation.

Jaken hung his head in silent agreement. "I'm sorry, Rin. I realize that I do not deserve your forgiveness."

Rin tried to remain angry. She really did. However, the sight of Jaken looking so ashamed, his shoulders slumped so aberrantly in defeat, made her instead desire to reach out and comfort the dejected imp. _He really is sorry. From what little I know of others, most men, or youkai, would not have hesitated at molesting me in my sleep. He really does care for me. He cannot really help his other feelings._

It was pleasurable, after all, for us both.

That thought interrupted Rin's train of thoughts like a thunderclap. This was exactly the kinds of thoughts which she had been trying to avoid. Jaken, though he was a friend, was an ugly green toad-like youkai and not at all appropriate as a lover. She was human. He was…what was he anyway?

This inner conversation – so similar to many which she had held over the past week - was leaving her feeling vaguely guilty. She simply did not feel it was noble to base her rejecting Jaken based on this excuse alone. She felt shallow for rejecting her good friend's advances because his appearance was repulsive to many. She should be good-hearted enough to overlook this. His ugliness was not his fault. Outward appearances should not be of utmost importance in judging others.

Rin recalled a vaguely remembered event from early childhood that seemed to have some loose relevance on her current state of mind.

_"Rin, Riiiin, where are you child." _

Rin could hear her mother crying out across the village and quickened her pace, her short legs churning across the dusty path. "Mama, I'm coming."

"Child, where have you been? It's almost time for dinner," her mother chided, bending over to wipe her daughter's face clean of grime and dust. Her mother's smile let her know that, despite her words, she was not angry with her. 

"I've been playing with Yuri, Mama. He gave me a ride on his back around the village. It was like riding a mountain. He's so tall." Rin raised her arms high for emphasis and her enthusiasm was only dampened when she noticed her mother's expression harden. 

"You should stay away from Yuri. He was cursed from birth with that hideous face of his and the village dogs are far more intelligent than he. I don't want him touching you, my precious Rin." Her mother stroked her cheek, her face softening once again. 

"But Mama, I don't think he is ugly, no matter what the other kids say. And he's nice to me. I want to marry him when I grow up."

"Rin, do not speak of such things." This time, her mother's face matched the sharpness of her words. "You will do no such thing. Now come inside this instant!"

Rin was brought out of her reverie by Jaken's sudden movement to stand and leave. He was careful to keep his expression blank, she could tell, but she knew that her words had hurt him. Her heart aching with regret, Rin reached out and caught his shoulder, tugging him back and cradling him against her belly. "Jaken, I do forgive you. If it means that much to you," she hesitated her, almost losing her nerve, "our being together again, then what could it hurt for us to…again." Rin blushed a deep red, unable to articulate the words.

Jaken turned his head and stared up into her eyes, as if searching for something, his expression inscrutable. She wondered what he must be thinking. _Likely that I am crazy._ Finally, he offered her his hand and they both walked together towards her sleeping chambers.

One week later, Rin did not exactly regret her actions of that morning, but she did not know what to feel. Their intimacy had been as gratifying as the first time, however it did nothing to further the purpose of making either of them forget those very feelings. Instead, it seemed to fan the very flames she had hoped to extinguish that morning. _I should have know better, but it had seemed a reasonable thing to do at the time. _

Jaken was always after her now—walking too closely at her side, touching her too often, watching her movements with a none-too-casual eye. Once, when she was bent over on the floor scrubbing the skins off of a wild vegetable he had foraged for her, Jaken had come up behind her and wrapped his arms around her thin waist, pressing himself against her boldly. This evening, he had materialized directly behind her as she had been reading a scroll from their library by candlelight and she could feel his hot breath across the shell of her ear.

"Jaken. No. Leave me be while I am reading."

At this admonishment, he had quickly scampered off.

But there had been several times when she had purposefully stretched her bare legs out sensually from under the folds of her kimono when she had know he was near, or flirtatiously fingered her hair if she caught him staring. No, she was not an innocent player in this little game of theirs. Nor had she been able to resist all of his advances. One evening, as they lay under the stars together, a childish game of tickling had turned into a less-than-innocent chance to fondle and roll around on the springy grass together. One thing had led to another and they made love yet again under the stars. Another time, yesterday evening, she had allowed him into her room.  
_  
Jaken's breathing was labored as he pounded himself into of her with surprising force. Normally, Rin lay there, silent and still, during this later part of their lovemaking, simultaneously slightly ashamed and fascinated as she waited for him to finish his animalistic thrusting._

"Rin," he wheezed, barely able to articulate the words through his fervor, "touch yourself."

"What, what are you saying?" Rin was mortified. Was he implying that she should…

"Yes," he ordered through gritted teeth. His normally cultured voice was hardly recognizable, the speech sounded ragged and harsh, "touch yourself like I touch you. Do it Rin."

"_Mmmmm," she cried out, writhing in pleasure. At this, Jaken let out a yelping cry and let out a cry of his own._

_She threw her head back, shaking with pleasure as she reached climax for the sixth time that evening._

Or was it the seventh, she couldn't remember.

  
Rin sighed at the memory. Should she worried that she would be 'ruined' for life by this experience, that as a result, that now only Jaken or other short, green youkai would be able to sexually excite her. Or, perhaps she would begin to think of her own kind as 'ugly' and unappealing. 

Rin giggled a little at her own silly thoughts and made her way to bed.

------------------

The next morning, Jaken was silent and aloof. There was no more ogling, no more sly advances. Rin thought that perhaps he was not feeling well and dismissed it. By late afternoon, his behavior had not altered. He would not look at her either, even when she tried to catch his eye as they completed their adopted daily chores of cleaning, maintaining the gardens, and preparing food.

_Perhaps this is a game meant to force me to seek him out_, Rin thought quizzically. I will play along then. Rin stood up from her gardening and approached the imp, who was standing and gazing towards the forest. She placed her hands on his shoulders and whispered in his ear, "Lazy Jaken, what's wrong?"

Jaken jerked away from her grasp, surprising her. She pulled her hands back into little fists against her chest, feeling both rejected and curious at the same time.

"Jaken, why are you acting so strangely?"

Jaken took a couple of steps away from her, confusing her further. He did not speak for a long moment, but then she heard him softly mutter, "Sesshoumaru-sama."

_Sesshoumaru-sama._ The name circled in her mind. _Her Sesshoumaru-sama, he was coming. And she was…._Rin immediately darted off in the direction of the nearby hot springs.

She sat in the spring until she was a wizened as a prune, scrubbing and washing her water- logged hair and body until her skin felt raw and sensitive.

------------------

The next morning Jaken and Rin stood, side by side, watching the forest quietly together.

"He will be arriving shortly," Jaken stated, breaking their strained silence.

"Hm."

Rin felt both nervous and giddy. She had been thinking of Sesshoumaru-sama less and less in the past few weeks, being, as the two of them were, preoccupied with something else. However, since the mention of his name the previous evening, she had grown increasingly excited over his impending arrival; her thoughts taking on the familiar hero-worship quality which they had possessed for so long.

She saw a flash of light in between the trees and Rin held her breath. _He's finally here. _

Within seconds, he stood before them, his pure white hair and hoari billowing in the wind and his golden eyes brilliant yet impassive in the morning sunlight. A few steps forward and he was directly in front of the two, towering over them. Rin could almost touch a strand of his silvery hair which brushed past her.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, milord, you have finally returned. Oh how we have missed you these many months," Jaken began to gush. Rin glanced over at him and saw a nearly blank, adoring look in his bulbous eyes. She wondered if her own eyes held the same expression, but all thoughts were wiped clear of her mind when he turned his eyes to her.

Those beautiful golden eyes. _Her Sesshoumaru-sama. _

Rin did not know whether to laugh or cry, but she felt as if she were drowning in the color of those jewel-like irises. Suddenly, she felt herself lurching forward and without any consciously forethought, she had wrapped her arms tightly around the inu-youkai.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, thank you for coming back for your Rin."

_AN: Yep, that's it. Are you actually still reading? Am I the only one laughing at this?_

This story has not inspired laughter. This story has not inspired flames (well one). Thus, I cannot help but wonder what sorts of feelings this work of fiction must be inspiring in you, the reader.

busy wondering about this

(….)

This is really difficult. I need more time to think.

(…)

Ew! You people are sick! So that's why you are reading this fic. No wonder you haven't wanted to put that in a review or flame! (well, except for MY MInD, Koday and Jsquishywhatever your name is). BTW, I am actually cutting these lemons. This is also posted on adult fan fiction.


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha._

Sesshoumaru flinched inwardly as the young human girl wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head in his hoari.  
To his credit, he did wish to embarrass or hurt her by pulling back from her unexpected physical contact, so he steeled himself and waited quietly for her display of emotions to subside.

Rin's hair was unbound and her position caused a lock of long, dark hair to rest against his red and white patterned sleeve. Her sweet, cloying scent wafted upwards, which he tested instinctively for any changes which may have occurred while he was away.

There was something…he could not precisely decipher what it was, but it was definitely there. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes and looked down at Rin's head where it still rested against his ribcage. He could not determine anything different about her, other than she seemed to have grown slightly, which is to be expected. How old was she now – seventeen. Perhaps it was something particular to humans which had altered, and that is why he was unable to put his finger on the difference. Humans, though she had traveled with him for ten years, were still a mystery to him—their motivations, their emotions, and now, apparently, the changes in their scent.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sesshoumaru noticed Jaken was staring. Of course, Jaken often stared adoringly at him, but this was different, slightly more intense and irritating than usual. Sesshoumaru cut his eyes towards Jaken and _glared. _Jaken jumped in surprise and made a fearful, gibbering sound.

All these irregularities in his servant and ward only served to put Sesshoumaru's nerves on edge. It was not purposeful, but simply that he could not help but to respond with such a reaction.

Finally, Rin reluctantly pulled away and Sesshoumaru turned silently, as was his custom, and made his way towards home. As if locked in some sort of shared dream, the girl and imp stood, side-by-side, staring after the white figure shimmering in the brilliant morning sunlight for a moment before moving to follow.

Sesshoumaru sat unmoving under a tree, his expression devoid of all thought and emotion, either watching or ignoring the busy activities of the human and imp around him. Neither of those had ever been able to determine which it was, or if it were both, alternately.

"Rin"

The young girl looked up, startled to hear her lord's deep voice. He had been so very quiet since his arrival.

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"Come here and sit next to me."

A little unnerved by the unusual request, Rin complied, sitting down carefully to the right of the inu-youkai.

He leaned towards her, slowly, until his lips were almost touching the top of her head. Rin felt goosebumps traveling down the back of her neck and over her arms, as if she could already feel his warm breath there. She felt something brush the top of her head and he _sniffed._

Rin jumped slightly at the sound.

Sesshoumaru settled back against the tree again, looking for all the world as if he had never moved at all. Taking this as her cue to leave, Rin stood up slowly, watching the youkai all the while and made her way back to the spot where she had been preparing the ingredients for this evening's meal. She wondered at his odd behavior, and a disturbing thought reared its ugly head.

_He knows._

She glanced back again at the resting inu-youkai, but there was no indication from his expression of whether he was either pleased, or displeased, by her scent. She nervously turned her attention back to her self-assigned task.

Sesshoumaru watched the young girl's actions, but was no closer to solving his little mystery regarding her scent. He had taken in her scent deeply during the exchange, but though he had found it particularly sweet and even somewhat comforting, he was unable to pinpoint the exact difference he had been hoping to discover.

_Perhaps this happens to all humans as they grow older. If it is important, it will surely become more obvious in the future. _

Sesshoumaru pushed aside his doubts and closed his eyes to enjoy the pleasing, domestic sensations which being home with his two companions never failed to stir in him.

_  
AN:I see that several of you have put me on your Author alerts and Favs. You're sick._

_But you already knew that, didn't you._


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha._

_AN: Flames, flames galore! I'm so pleased. You! You wonderful flamers, you've touched my heart sniff, sniff and have inspired me to write more, EVEN THOUGH IT IS MY BIRHDAY TODAY. Yup, I'm a Virgo, though and through._

_For those of you who reviewed and said you liked my writing or the pairing (you sick-o), I must thank you. I'm flattered. You must be expecting a Jaken/Rin writer to suck very badly. You realize I write under other names…so that means I could also be writing that tasty Sess/Rin or Sess/Kag you are reading right now. Hee-hee, just wanted to make you a little paranoid. E-gads._

_To one very special reviewer, or flamer, and you know who you are – you have inspired me now. I may have to write a KougaXJake one-shot n in the future. Heh._

_What about my fangirl bitch – GreaterbeastXellas.We are busy planning our wedding. Wish us luck! Where shall we spend our honeymoon, dear?_

_Chapter 6:_

It had been over a week since Sesshoumaru had returned and Rin was finally coming back down to earth. At first, it was almost as if his return had scattered all her previous doubts and problems to the wind, making her life and manner once again simple and child-like.

_All good things must come to an end._

If assigned to reign in the willful young Rin, Jaken would sometimes, if he had been feeling particularly magnanimous, use this phrase to interrupt her play instead of his usual yelling and complaining. The phrase kept running through Rin's mind every so often, making her wonder if some wiser part of her mind were trying to tell her something.

_All good things must come to an end._ This time, Rin imagined Jaken speaking the phrase with his imperious tone complete with folded arms and serious expression, which all served to send her into a fit of giggles. Rin smiled and began braiding her mass of long, black hair into a fresh braid. It had grown quickly over the past few years, shooting from the middle of her back all the way down past her hips. Now she had to make certain she spent time each day grooming that lustrous mass of hair or else it would become tangled and wild during her daily tasks and frequent jaunts into the nearby forest seeking mushrooms and fresh herbs. At one point, she had neglected her hair for several days and Jaken had likened it to a bush.

"_Watch yourself else you will frighten Sesshoumaru-sama with that bushy head of yours._"

"_Silly imp, nothing could ever frighten my Sesshoumaru-sama."_

"_You hair, human female, could currently scare the wits out of Naraku himself. Hm, perhaps we should use you as some sort of weapon."_

Rin giggled again at the memory of their teasing banter. She had found a particularly stubborn knot and was tugging at it patiently, pulling strands free and separating them carefully. She tried to remember what retort she had given Jaken at the time.

"_Jaken, you, you are such an imbecile_. _Why do I put up with you."_

"_Now that is the question I have been asking myself for about ten years now."_

"_Hmph," Rin replied, scooting around on the flat rock so that she was now facing away from the imp. _

"_Now you look even more terrifying. All I can see is that overgrown mane of yours."_

_Rin did not reply, but did begin to roughly drag her fingers through her tangled locks_

"_No, no, no, not like that, girl. You'll do more harm than good," Jaken chided. He moved closer and eased himself down on the rock next to her. "Now," he said, slowly dragging his claw-tipped fingers through her hair. "Jaken will have to fix it for you properly, just like I must do everything around here," he chiding words now lacked their previous conviction. _

"_Jaken do this, Jaken there, that. Yes, yes, what would you either of you do without me," his complaint again lacked his usual sharp tone and, in fact, might have seemed almost gentle and tender to anyone listening._

_Rin was not listening, however. She had closed her eyes and was lost in her daydreaming, relaxed and enjoying the imp's ministrations._

Rin was suddenly jolted out of her reverie by a flood of heat between her legs. Immediately, she dropped the braid and clamped her hand over that area, as if the physical barrier could stop her body's mutinous internal response.

_This is all wrong, wrong_, Rin thought, shaking her head and causing her half-braided hair to lazily work its way free of its confines and fall in a curtain over her down-turned face Why should an innocent memory of Jaken grooming her hair elicit these feelings? All the imp had been doing was…._wait, was Jaken, at that time, was he, _her thoughts werejumbled, panicked, and she tried to focus._ Did he want me all that time? Was untangling my hair simply a way for him to touch me?_

Again, Rin felt the heat flow between her legs. _Stop that_, she thought, furiously clamping her hand down once again between her legs, not wanting these sensations, no matter how pleasant they might be. Her whole body was tense. She was at war with herself, with her body's reactions. What was worse, she found that the hand covering the sensitive area was only causing more heat to pool in that area.

Experimentally, she flexed her fingertips and almost cried out at the pleasurable sensation. She pressed a little harder, suddenly wishing there were not several layers of cloth between her hand and…

"_Touch yourself, Rin"_

The memory of Jaken's rasping voice jolted her out of her sensual daze.

"What is happening to me!" Rin cried aloud, bolting upright, she dashed off into the direction of the hot spring.

Despite her panicked flight of the previous day, Rin now felt calm and content sitting across the evening camp fire from Sesshoumaru-sama and Jaken. Though the days were still quite warm, there was a distinct chill in the air at night, causing Rin to drag out the carefully folded blankets and Jaken to prepare a small fire. The three of them often spent much time outside this time of year, before a proper chill would eventually drive Rin and Jaken, at least, inside.

The heat from the fire was relaxing. Jaken seemed to be dozing, his bulbous eyes were closed and nose tilted downwards. Rin stole a glance at Sesshoumaru. He sat, unmoving, gazing over the fire into the darkness beyond. The firelight flicked in his inhuman eyes, darkening his golden irises to a deep bronze which Rin found lovely.

"Sesshoumaru-sama"

He did not answer at first, but continued staring beyond the firelight as if he had not heard her, as he was wont to do. She waited patiently until he turned his head towards her slightly, his amber eyes still not looking directly at her, but in her general direction.

"Yes, Rin?"

Though she expected his response, it still gave her a start, the deep timbre of his voice sending pleasant vibrations through her.

"What do you think about?"

"How do you mean, Rin?"

"What do you think about when you are looking," she gestured towards the darkened forest beyond them, "out there."

Sesshoumaru's eyes followed the direction of her gesture, scanning the area before he responded. "Many things, Rin."

"Oh." Rin thought this answer was quite mysterious, but not unlike many of the answers which he had given before this. She was not so much interested in his answers as hearing him speak. She loved his voice, so calm, so masculine—it never failed to make her feel secure and happy.

Thinking of this, Rin edged closer to the inu-youkai and, hoping he would not mind, she reached her hand out and caught an errant strand of his silver hair which the night breeze had blown her way. The lord registered no discernible reaction to her liberty, which gave her the bravery to make her next request.

"Would Sesshoumaru-sama mind it if," she paused here and caught her breath as he turned towards her, this time his intense eyes settling directly on her. She let the silken lock slip from her fingers and sat very still, transfixed by his gaze. His eyes now made her think of deep golden wells, if there were such a thing. The blue of his moon-shaped marking seemed almost black in the dim light, she noticed, while the stripes on each side had only darkened to a deep red. _Exactly the color of blood, _she musedHer fingers twitched. She wished she could trace those markings with her fingertips.

"Would I mind if you did what, Rin?" he asked softly.

"Oh," Rin had quite forgotten that she had been about to make a request, so busy was she admiring his beautiful youkai features. "I was wondering if I might brush your hair, Sesshoumaru-sama"

The youkai turned away quietly and, at first, Rin was worried that she had offended him in some way.

"Do as you like, Rin."

Smiling and a little giddy with anticipation, Rin retrieved a comb and positioned herself behind the inu-youkai. She tentatively pulled the elegantly carved comb through a length of his hair. The comb had been a gift for her on her fifteenth birthday and was among one of her most treasured possessions.

Using her other hand to separate his heavy silver locks, she hummed under her breath as she ran the comb through his hair. She heard him give a long sigh and his shoulders seemed to relax marginally. The sigh ended with a thrumming sound, deep inside his chest. Rin wished she could lean her face against his back and enjoy the reverberations there from the sound, but did not dare to touch her lord in such an intimate fashion.

She reached up and placed the brush against his scalp and let it slide down the length of his hair. His hair was almost completely smooth now and she admired the newly groomed, shining length of it slipping from the teeth of the comb like a silver waterfall.

As she repeated this action over and over, reveling in its softness, a movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She paused, letting her upraised hand fall into her lap.

It was Jaken.

He was glaring at both of them, his eyes were narrowed into furious half-slits which darted angrily back and forth between the pair of them. His beak-like mouth was clamped shut in an unpleasant-looking grimace. His hands were steadily opening and closing into fists and seemed to be shaking slightly.

Rin stared at him, her mouth slightly agape, still not fully awakened from her peaceful interlude with Sesshoumaru's hair. When Jaken realized her attention was on him, he caught her eyes for one, long moment, giving her a cold look before turning away. _He is jealous, _Rin realized_. But of whom?_

"Jaken"

Sesshoumaru's commanding monotone directed all attention back to him, all anger and jealousy forgotten. Both Jaken and Rin turned expectantly and somewhat fearfully towards the youkai as he stood up, flipping his long hair behind him.

"Keep the fire tended for Rin. I am retiring to my chambers for the evening."

As he walked away in the direction of the rooms, Jaken and Rin sat there across the fire from one another, both looking and feeling confused.

_For a moment there, I thought Sesshoumaru-sama was angry at Jaken._

…

_What was I doing back there? I almost let my jealousy get the better of me. After so many years in the service of my Sesshoumaru-sama, I should know better._

Rin stood up and walked in the direction of the rooms as well, calling out behind her, "Don't worry with the fire, Master Jaken, I'm going to bed as well." Stealing a glance at the imp still sitting by the campfire behind her, Rin turned the question of his jealousy over in her mind, still not certain whether it was her or her lord which the bitter resentment had been directed towards.

_AN: My Author's notes are getting longer than my chapters. I was intending to include one more section in this chapter where Rin finds out that she, too, could feel jealousy. However, I am too tired, so will have to include it in the next installment. Blame it in my LJ. I'm addicted and squandered much of my precious writing time there today._


	7. Chapter 7

Author's note JUST FOR KEITHKNIGHT'S GIRL BECAUSE SHE WAS SUCH A BABY AND INSISTED ON IT.

Will this become a Sess/Rin….well, hm, good question.

Firstly, do you really want to pass these damaged goods along to Sesshoumaru. I mean she's got **Jaken cooties**, after all. Secondly, in my original plotline, I did have Sesshoumaru and Rin getting it on and leaving one very jealous Jaken to watch from the bushes, and then, what comes next is truly horrifying. However, I was considering not doing that Sess/Rin sex scene because every one of you is enjoying the Jaken sex too much. I didn't want any Jaken-crazed readers mad at me.

I do believe, Keithknightsgirl, that I might get an overwhelming 'thumbs down' if I let Rin slip through Jaken's grubby little fingers and into Sesshoumaru's arm.

People out there just _like_ Jaken and think that he is a sex god. End of story.

Isn't this true, my readers?

Also, another motivation for not writing a Sess/Rin sex scene is because it just takes way too long to set it up. I mean, he is a bit of a cold fish, you know. To keep him looking at least vaguely 'Sessh-ish' and humping Rin might take several chapters of hard, sweaty writing. As you must have realized by now, I'm very lazy (but don't tell that to GbX until after the wedding ceremony).

My final answer: I'll think it over and give you my answer in the next chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha._

So we begin…

Rin awoke to the sounds of voices, deep tones intermixed with the high keening tones of an excitable Jaken, and, out of habit, she immediately sat upright, scooting off of her futon and hurrying towards the door. After many years with her youkai companions, she had come to expect certain things to occur. Among those more common were bickering arguments with Jaken, the occasional drop in Sesshoumaru's ever present façade into an angry grimace when the two of them became too outrageous, and Sesshoumaru's fairly frequent and unpredictable absences. However, there were also less common, but as yet expected occurrences. One of these was that Jaken and Sesshoumaru would occasionally depart for several days and_ leave Rin behind_. She couldn't help but suspect that they were planning one of these now since why else would Jaken be up so early and why else would Sesshoumaru-sama be conversing at length with the imp?

When Rin was younger, this separation had occurred more frequently and Rin would be left in the dubious care of Ah-Uh for short periods, usually never longer than a day or so. However, after several close calls with roving youkai and one roving little girl, the retainer and his lord quickly learned that this was not at all practical if they meant to keep her alive. For years after realizing this very thing, Sesshoumaru made it a habit to always include Rin in their travels whenever possible. And, when it was not possible to include his young ward due to danger or fear of embarrassment, Jaken was left behind to mind her in his own absent-minded fashion.

There were a few minor disasters which occurred over the years—Rin getting lost, Rin getting kidnapped, Rin somehow getting involved in the fray during a battle. But with each passing year, all three of them adjusted and slowly developed ways in which to prevent these little mistakes. Rin, for one, matured and became better able to remain out of sight and unmonitored during fighting. She learned that her Sesshoumaru-sama was, indeed, a formidable foe and therefore resisted the urge to interfere and rush out and 'help' him during these times. Instead, a slightly older Rin contented her self with looking on and wincing, she never did forgo wincing at the violence, and enjoying the sight of her beautiful Sesshoumaru-sama gracefully and efficiently slaughtering his enemies.

As Rin made her way towards the front entrance, she struggled to pull the outer layer of kimono into place while subsequently shaking and finger-brushing her wild locks into place behind her ears. Her hair was simply not cooperating this morning, leaving Rin with a few long tendrils hanging into her eyes as she pulled the door open wide to reveal the imp and her master.

Neither of the two spared her a glance and she huffed at the strands of hair tickling her nose in frustration.

Jaken and Sesshomaru were now talking in low, hushed tones, an indication that, though they gave her no sign of recognition, they had sensed her approach and adjusted the volume of their conversation accordingly_. As if it would matter if I heard what the two of them were discussing. It is so_ _annoying to be left to feel as some sort of outsider. Haven't I proved my loyalty on several occasions?_

Continuing to straighten her hair and clothes, Rin looked for signs in the youkai's faces of what they might be discussing. Sesshoumaru-sama wore the same expression which he always had—slightly bored and reserved. If she did not know any better after many years of association, she might believe that he was not attending to what the imp was saying. But she knew better, he _was _listening to Jaken and one could be assured that he would continue to do so until such point as he had turned his eyes away and moved on, leaving Jaken sputtering after him.

_Not that Jaken ever has anything of much importance to add to any conversation_, Rin laughed to herself at her friend's expense. She had spent too much time around the imp to feel any reservations about this, since Jaken was usually the first one to tease and taunt her for any faults. Despite this, the two had grown used to one another and, eventually, this familiarity had turned into a strange sort of friendship. Rin immediately stopped the direction that her thoughts were taking. She would not allow her thoughts to stray to another very strange relationship which had developed between the two of them. She refused. She forced her thoughts instead to the beautiful dog demon who now standing directly across from Jaken. This pleasant diversion had never failed to suitably dominate her thoughts, at least so far.

Sesshoumaru-sama, though a common target for affection and hero-worship for both her and Jaken, could not be provided with any label as simple and compact as 'friend'. He was a protector, a guide, a hero, a provider, and the unrivaled and undisputed master of the three. Even after these many years, Rin was not certain of his feelings towards his two loyal followers. His actions, however, were quite clear. He was always there to shield her from harm, though sometimes he was a tad late.

Sesshoumaru held tight to a very strict and unbending approach when provoked into a confrontation with an enemy, especially when his sense of 'honor', as Jaken called it, had been impinged, which seemed to be often. Rin did not have much knowledge of how an aristocratic youkai such as Sesshoumaru was expected to conduct himself. But over the years she had gained some loose concept of how it worked and it seemed to her like a highly stylized dance where both parties took their turns advancing and retreating, even at the cost of maintaining the upper hand. But First, Sesshoumaru would spend a short time mulling over the current situation, as if to show that he was neither hotheaded nor eager. Next he would confront the root of the problem, usually through some choice dialogue if it were an intelligent demon, such as Naraku had been. After trading a few insulting remarks, the two would engage in physical conflict. It was only after this show of force that Sesshoumaru would turn his sights toward Rin. It was no matter that she had to wait, she supposed, since he always keep her from harm's way, eventually.

Rin musings on the youkai lord were finally interrupted by a sudden gesture made by Jaken in her direction. Sesshoumaru turned towards her, his golden eyes settling on her for the briefest of moments before he turned his eyes to stare, once more, into the space above Jaken's head. For several minutes, Rin stood by and watched the two in conversation, not wanting to interrupt, nor wanting to miss what would happen next.

When the two were conspiring like this, it almost always ended in an imminent departure, leaving Rin behind for one reason or another. The thought of Jaken and Sesshoumaru traveling alone together suddenly annoyed her_. Why should I be left behind, after all? Why would I not be a suitable companion as well?_

A strange, tight feeling worked its way into the pit of her belly. The two had stepped beyond the well, but she could still see that Jaken was hopping up and down excitedly, gesturing wildly towards the South. She heard Sesshoumaru respond curtly in his deep baritone, leaving Jaken looking up at him, speechless.

_That look_, Rin thought angrily_, he is looking at Sesshoumaru-sama with such longing and admiration. It's sickening, really, does that toad think of nothing else when Sesshoumaru-sama is near? _

At this, Rin felt a flash of something. She felt a burning sensation in her eyes, as if tears were threatening to make wet, hot trails down her smooth cheeks. She immediately recognized this emotion as jealousy. She disliked the bitter emotion, but what was worse, she could not discern whether or not her jealousy was directed towards Jaken or Sesshoumaru, or both. The two of them together had fired jealousy in her before, but not this white-hot angry jealousy that made her grind her teeth and clench her fists ineffectually.

How she wished for simpler days, when her feelings had been much easier to sort through and tag with neat little labels such as, love, admiration, friend, lover. Now these labels seemed to blur and blend with one another, creating a regular cornucopia of feelings milling around in her gut which left her feeling decidedly nauseous.

_How many more times will I be forced to regret my actions regarding Jaken before things return to normal once again?_ Rin wondered about this, feeling strangely helpless and complacent at the same time. She preferred that they would simply go away on their ownShe was notoverly fond of taking actionHer even-tempered and tolerant nature had served her well thus far. Why change that now

_Perhaps I will merely have to trust in Kami that this will all blow over soon and things will be as they once were. Until then, I only hope that Sesshoumaru does not realize what has transpired between ward and servant._

Later that evening, Rin huddled beneath the covers of her futon with strict orders to stay inside after sundown. She kicked and she thrashed, restless and unable to fall asleep.

She could see the full moon through the high window and could hear the calls of the night birds. She tried to concentrate on their soft, keening voices, hoping sleep would overtake her, but she only lay there wide-eyed and fidgety.

_I wonder what Jaken and Sesshoumaru-sama are doing right now?_

Even as she thought this, she knew it to be a silly question. Jaken would be snoring, possibly blowing bubbles of saliva in his sleep (not one of his more savory habits) while Sesshoumaru would be sitting against a tree, his gold eyes distant and glowing in the firelight.

_Why in the hell did they have to leave me behind? Am I such an abhorrent traveling companion? Jaken will most assuredly be using this time alone to garner favor with Sesshoumaru-sama, dragging that damn beak of his in the dirt in a show of submission. _

Despite her bitterness, she could not help but giggle at this image. She had witnessed this behavior many times, after all. It was both strange and unnerving that it would suddenly bother her.

_Why can't Jaken show some backbone occasionally. Sesshoumaru-sama surely can not care for his disgraceful displays of humility. If he thinks he is good enough for me, how can he continue to humiliate himself so? Does he think so little of me that he would forget what we shared and degrade himself over another who would never even consider him as an equal?_

Rin was shocked by her last thoughts. What was she thinking? She did not belong to Jaken, and he certainly did not own her. This was ridiculous. He was an imp. A small, toady, disgusting, ugly imp. He was not her lover. Actually, he technically _was_ her lover, but the point was, it had been an accident.

_You mean you just accidentally 'slipped' into Jaken's waiting arms five or six times?_

Rin suddenly felt sick. Nothing made sense anymore. It was as if she had mated with an animal and suddenly found that she had feelings for the dumb beast. Sex apparently could wreck havoc on one's emotions. And yet, Jaken was not dumb beast. He was just as worthy of love and affection as she herself was and, as well, he was her friend. He did not deserve to have her thinking such low thoughts of him. Who was she, after all, to say that she was better than he? Why, because she was human? Because she was more physically beautiful?

_To some, I might be considered less than Jaken and look just as reprehensible. Sesshoumaru-sama certainly has not taken any interest in me, either._

The reminder sent a pang through her chest, despite herself.

Sitting up, she decided to end her self-inflicted torture and take a walk outside to get her mind off of this predicament which she was sure had no real solution.

Rin paused in the doorway and surveyed the empty grounds, more for her own pleasure than to search for any hidden threats.

The moonlight colored the dusty areas around the well a dull silver, glinting off its roof and off of the waving grasses surrounding the grounds. The forest beyond was a dark silhouette, a boundary that was strangely beckoning. This was the one thing that she actually enjoyed about their leaving her here alone. With her safety net absent, the world around her was suddenly more dangerous and mysterious and exciting, all at once.

She stepped out onto the ground below, her bare toes curling into the cool earth. The chill of the night breeze crept beneath her undergarments, causing her skirt to billow upwards. The sensation was invigorating. She tossed her hair wildly, a sense of abandon overtaking her. Like some untamed colt, she dashed madly in the direction of the hot springs.

By the time she arrived, the grip of her wild fancy had loosened its hold and she slowly edged her way through the tall grasses towards the edge of the hot spring. She shivered as the warmth of the spring settled around her feet. She quickly removed her clothing and eased herself into the spring.

Rin did not realize she had drifted off to sleep in the spring until the sharp snap of a nearby tree branch echoed through the forest and startled her out of her sleep. She looked around wildly, the vestiges of her dream-world making it difficult to tell fantasy from reality at the moment. _There were snake youkai slithering all around me, their eyes the color of blood. _She shook her head in attempt to rid herself of these gruesome images.

A green and brown blur raced by her and dived into the grasses. _Jaken?_ She rubbed her eyes, wondering if this was another part of her dream, or if she had just seen Jaken race by her and attempt to hide.

There was one way to find out.

"Jaken"

Her query was met with silence. She tried again, this time a little louder.

"Jaken!"

Again, there was silence. She was beginning to feel foolish for calling out to an empty forest. She hugged her arms around her chest, covering her exposed breasts. She was certain that she could feel eyes on her. She shivered.

"Jaken," she tried again, this time in an uncertain, fearful voice. She ducked down into the water until the surface was just below her nose in a vain attempt to hide.

"Alright, you blasted girl. It is me. Why could you not leave well enough alone and allow me to slip away, saving the both of us the embarrassment."

Jaken's head appeared above the grasses and he spent a moment dusting off his clothing before approaching the spring.

"EEP! Jaken, what are you doing here?"

"What are you talking about Rin? You knew I was here. Why else were you calling to me so persistently?"

"Well, yes, I knew someone was there but I was not sure. I only hoped it was you."

"I see." Jaken chuckled at her statement and resisted the urge to respond with a teasing remark.

"Jaken," Rin said warningly, "that came out all wrong. And you can just stay where you are. Don't you come any closer!" Rin squealed as Jaken continued to advance.

"It is not as if you have anything that I have never seen before." He paused in mid-step, realizing that propriety dictated that he should move no closer than this.

The implications of Jaken's statement sent chills up and down her spine, tugging memories of their intimacy to the forefront of her mind. At the same time, the audacity of his statement made her angry.

_That little, little…TOAD, _Rin thought furiously.

She lifted her hand and SPLASHED, causing a spray of water to drench the imp.

"Why you little," Jaken sputtered irately, but his beginnings of a tirade were halted by another spray of water.

Rin began giggling hysterically at the sight of the imp's sodden clothes sticking to his skin, his hat hanging haphazardly off the side of his head. She continued to splash him again and again, laughing all the while. Despite the constant barrage of water, Jaken also could not help but laugh at her playful antics, his outrage forgotten. He fought his way blindly to edge of the spring and began to fight back with his own splashing, the warm spray causing Rin to retreat, still giggling, to the back of the spring.

One well-placed splash caught Jaken directly in the face. The look of shock on his face was only bested by the fact that his hat had worked its way off his head and was now floating upside down in the water bobbing like a toy boat. Rin's tinkling laughter echoed throughout the dark forest.

Before Jaken had a chance to come to his senses and reach for his hat, Rin was lunging across the spring after it like some sort of playful water sprite.

"Rin, give that back this instant," Jaken screeched, one hand rubbing the bare spot on his head. This only caused her to retreat again to the far end of the spring, sporting a mischievous grin.

"Rin, I said give that back or else," Jaken bellowed again, causing her grin to widen even further.

That is, until Jaken began to shed his wet clothing.

"Or else I'll have to come in and take it back myself!"

Rin sat there, dazed for a few seconds as Jaken dived into the spring now completely naked. He surprised her by surfacing directly in front of her. His bulbous yellow eyes locked onto her own and this time he was the one with the devilish grin.

In a panic, Rin scooted along the edge of the spring, still clutching Jaken's hat to her chest. He darted around her and quickly blocked her escape route. Again, she struggled to escape his close proximately, this time towards the opposite end of the spring. As if on cue, Jaken was there in front of her, this time wading so close that their faces were mere inches apart.

Rin suddenly remembered the hat. She quickly tossed it towards the bank, hoping vainly that this was all that would be required to stop his advances.

Jaken hardly spared a glance in its direction. He inched forward and she could feel his breath against her lips. He placed his arms on either side of her, effectively preventing a clean escape since she was already flush against the embankment.

There would be no slipping away and running. If she were to get out of this predicament, she would have to confront Jaken.

Unfortunately, Rin could not think of anything to say.

"Rin," Jaken's voice was soft and husky, and he pressed his body against hers. The touch of him was quite warm, even more so than the warm water surrounding them both.

"Jaken, I wasn't planning for any of this to happen."

With her statement, he eased off of her slightly, though she could still feel parts of him brushing against her, causing not-unpleasant sensations to spread across her chest and down her belly.

"I know. I was not either."

"But you were here, watching me?"

"My appointed task was complete. I was sent back to watch over you. Is it not so different from how I have watched you many times before?"

Rin's face reddened at this thought. The color on her cheeks made her all the more enticing, especially with the droplets of water hanging off her lashes and rolling down her cheeks. Jaken could not resist. He reached out and brushed the moisture off her soft cheek with his fingers. He trailed them across her full lips and then brought his fingers to his mouth and tasted them.

_I should do something, I really should_, Rin thought despairingly. But for some inexplicable reason her limbs refused to move and her lips refused to form the words of protest.

Her world seemed to close in on her as Jaken's face edged ever closer_. Is he about to try to kiss me? _She did not have time to wonder at the awkwardness involved in the mechanics of this action before she felt his cheek brush her own and a warm wetness press against her lips.

His tongue curled against her own, longer and thinner than a human tongue, but the caress of its moist softness sent jolts of pleasure running through her. He pressed himself against her fully once again and the feeling of his nakedness rubbing against her own was delicious in its own right.

The strangeness of it all, the forbidden quality of their encounter, caused a delightfully sinful thrill to run through her body. "Mmm," she murmured. She wrapped her arms around the imp's waist and pressed herself back against him. Her head dipped forward, lax with pleasure.

She heard Jaken give a satisfied groan.

Rin felt her blood pumping hard through her body now. It was wonderful, she thought, that pleasuring another could also give oneself such pleasure.

It was only after he was grunting and rocking heavily against her that Rin felt a brief feeling of amazement at the situation that they now found themselves in.

She had been taking an innocent soak in the hot springs. Jaken had arrived shortly thereafter to guard her as he had done so many times. How is it that they ended up in one another's arms yet again?

Shoving these thoughts aside, Rin encircled her arms low around his waist and pressed against him.

_Tonight, we might as well enjoy. Who knows what tomorrow may bring_?

Who, indeed? Surely not one very stoic dog demon who would be returning on the morrow?

Surely not…

_AN: Okay, okay, that there were some good smut! If you have read this far and not by covering your eyes during the sex scenes as one reader described, you might be interested in visiting the live journal community, Jakensmut. The address is www .livejournal/users/jaken smut/. Sorry for the weird spaces, but my html skills are poor. There is a 'underscore' between Jaken and smut and between Nelson and Bannaba in the next live journal address. Go there and gawk at all the sexy Jaken photos. Join the community, if you dare, along with the handful of brave souls. Or just go there and laugh. It's healthy to laugh once in awhile, even for sick-o's like you, my dear reading public. _

_Muhahahaha! I will corrupt you all! Or perhaps it is you who have corrupted me with your reviews, flames, and entreaties to write more of this story which I was about to happily give up writing a few chapters ago. My LJ address is www .livejournal/users/nelson bannaba/. You may leave reviews or flames there as well, if you so desire. I will happily respond to any and every to my best ability. You know, fangirls are all over me so I am just swamped with fan-comments. Heh._

_And a little update on my dear fiancé, GreaterbeastXellas. If only I wasn't so jealous of her fascination with Jaken. But then, he is so studly that I suppose I'll have to forgive her. _

_Kougafan4ever: That's right. I am, as we speak, formulating idea of how to get Jaken and Kouga together for a one-shot. And yes, I love writing Sesshoumaru, but aren't there enough of those out there to satisfy your Sesshy lust? Well, that was a dumb question – Sesshy-lust is never satisfied._


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha._

"He is coming."

"Just a few more moments," Rin murmured, still half-asleep.

"Rin!"

"What," Rin snapped, irritated at the second interruption since she had drifted back to sleep.

"_He_ is coming. Now get up!"

Rin rolled over on her futon away from Jaken's annoying voice and pulled the blanket over her head. The imp snatched it off immediately, causing her to gasp and curl up into a fetal position.

It was chilly and she was not a morning person.

Rin finally sat up, squinting at the too-bright sunlight and pointed a scolding finger towards Jaken, "I don't care who _he _is, give me my blanket back and I am going back to bed." Despite her even speech, she was still not thinking clearly, her mind muddled and drowsy. She proceeded to fall back against the futon with her delicate fingers shielding her eyes and her hair falling all around her shoulders in a fan-like pattern.

Jaken could not help but pause for a moment to enjoy the sight of her—she had grown to be truly lovely, after all. He was tempted by her rich, black hair, laying just inches from his bare feet. His fingers twitched and he ached to reach down and slide his fingers through that soft hair. _Hair was something he could appreciate. First, my Sesshoumaru and now Rin, I must have some sort of hair fetish_, he thought. His eyes wandered to her face, which held an appealing mixture of childlike characteristics and the features of a mature woman—a petite, slightly turned up nose, full lips and a pair of unusually large brown eyes. Perhaps it was this that made her so appealing, this blending of innocence and sensuality. And beyond this and upon deeper inspection, her features bespoke of gentleness and temperance, this being a fitting representation of her personality.

Jaken sighed and turned away. Perhaps he should touch her, just once more. After all, he might be dead on the morrow.

Still facing away, he told Rin softy, "Sesshoumaru-sama. He is coming."

Rin jumped to her feet, suddenly towering over the short youkai. "WHAT did you say?"

"You heard me."

Rin rushed out of the room through the open doorway, skidding down the hallway a few feet in her haste. She was not certain where exactly she was going, she was still disoriented from sleep. But a new emotion was spurring her clumsy limbs into action_, fear_. Rin had felt fear before on countless occasions. However, this was different. This was not fear of what might happen, but fear of the inevitable. This was fear of what the future_ would_ bring. And she was about to come face to face with that future a lot sooner than she anticipated.

As she was about to catapult herself through the doorway and out into the courtyard, Rin slammed into that future.

The future being a hard, muscular chest padded by soft fur and alternately by an armored chest plate. Rin squealed as she bounced back against the other side of the doorway, landing hard on her derriere with a sold _thunk. _

She was left staring up at a vision in white silhouetted by the rays of the morning sunlight as he stood in the doorway. At any other time, she might have thought he looked like an angel, but not now.

"Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin breathed, ever so softly.

She knew he heard her, though he continued staring at the wall directly above her head. He was silent and did not move.

Rin lowered her head, like a petulant child seeking leniency. Unfortunately, she was no longer a child.

She looked up. Sesshoumaru was now staring directly into her eyes, unblinking and cold. A shiver ran down her spine, but she dared not look away. Oh god, how she wanted to, but she simply could not look away from those accusing, golden eyes.

She might have sat there staring for quite awhile, in fact, if Sesshoumaru had not backed up and out of the doorway, giving her ample room to scramble up and follow him outside.

Rin was surprised to find that Jaken was already standing outside as well, directly in between herself and Sesshoumaru_. How did he get out here so quickly? _The three of them stood there facing one another for a long moment. Suddenly, Rin's attention was drawn to a small movement of Sesshoumaru's sleeve as his hand clenched into a fist. Before Rin had time to fully take stock of the situation, she saw the crimson patterns of Sesshoumaru's sleeve _blur_ and Jaken tumbled backwards with a horrid screech into a near by tree. His head slammed into the trunk with a sickening thump. She watched in horror as he slumped over. She feared he might be dead.

"Jaken," Sesshoumaru addressed the seemingly unconscious imp in a bored tone.

A stream of blood ran from the top of Jaken's head and across the side of his face. His body was quite still.

Rin turned back towards her lord, her heart beating rapidly. In her heart, a battle raged. Anger, fear, horror, guilt, a myriad of powerful emotions formed a dreadful mix which threatened to bring her to her knees in a trembling heap. She lifted her hand to her eyes, as if to shield them from the horror unfolding before her. Her knees buckled and she did fall forward, finally, and began retching.

Stepping deftly around her crumpled form, Sesshoumaru approached the unconscious Jaken, snatching him up by the throat and bringing the imp's face close to his own.

"Stop playing dead, Jaken"

At that, the imp opened one eye and quickly shut it again, his entire body beginning to quiver violently in his lord's grasp.

"Yes, milord, of course," he whispered, head dipping forward either as a show of petulance or in a swoon. When Rin heard this, she stopped her trembling and peeked over her shoulder at the two youkai, relieved that all the members of her little family were, as yet, still alive.

She was not prepared for what came next. Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth, tightening his fist around the imp's throat before releasing him, allowing him to fall limply at his feet. His claws had left deep, bloody gashes across his neck; a pool of blood was quickly growing around the imp. Not taking his eyes off of Jaken, Sesshoumaru placed his hand on the hilt of Tensaiga. In one swift movement, sunlight was glinting off of the sword's glimmering blade.

Rin knew at once what her lord meant to do. Without thinking, she lunged forward in a panicked rush towards Jaken. She overextended herself and ended up landing on top of the imp, causing him to skid backwards and fall face forward, groaning pitifully, into the dirt. Rin paid him no mind, keeping her eyes on the taiyoukai.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, milord. Please don't do this."

Rin's pleading eyes met Sesshoumaru's neutral ones, silently begging him to relent in this current course of action. The taiyoukai made no move, which heartened her though she realized this was not a concession.

"I can imagine what you are thinking, master, but it is not Jaken's fault that," she paused here, blushing despite her fear, "_it _happened."

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed fractionally, seeming to glow a crystalline shade of amber in the direct sunlight, _or perhaps the intense coloring is caused by his anger. _Rin blanched. Now was not really the time to be contemplating Sesshoumaru's eye color. She re-focused her attention and continued, "We, we," _kami, how to put this into words. How could she have been a willing participant in such unspeakable acts, _"We were drunk. Both of us."

_That sounded particularly brainless, didn't it? _Under Sesshoumaru's steady gaze, her actions, Jaken's actions, seemed increasingly repulsive. How could she ever have felt it was acceptable for the two of them—a human and a small, green imp—to engage in such sordid acts? Why had she ever felt it natural that they might gratify themselves in such a way? She lowered her eyes, ashamed for the first time since she and Jaken had started this affair. Remorse, distress, nausea—all these emotions she had struggled with since their affair had begun, but she had never once felt shame

_It had never seemed wrong before, only forbidden, or unwise, or even impractical, but the look in his eyes makes me feel as if we have committed a very perversion against nature._

Rin was unprepared for the affect his next words would have on her.

"Disgraceful."

She should have expected worse. Her vision blurred with tears and she swooned forward, unable to support her own weight.

_Disgraceful, disgraceful, disgraceful_…

His words ricocheted through her mind.

She did not hear the sound of metal scraping as he drew his sword. She did not notice as he stepped around her again and forward, stalking towards the imp's crumpled form. She was lost in her own self-loathing and bitter shame. Her lord hovered there, hesitating for a moment, but only for a moment since hesitation was quite simply not in his nature.

Finally, the sound of the _swish_ of the sword slicing the air served to penetrate Rin's clouded mind.

_Jaken!_

Something snapped inside of her_. What did it matter? I don't care what despicable acts we have committed. Jaken is my friend. No, he is more than that. He is a lover. I feel, I feel… _The thoughts racing through her mind were tinged with a mixture of tenderness, dread and overwhelming regret. She forced herself to open her eyes, half-expecting to see the horrific image of the imp's head rolling away from his body, or of his body being pulled through a void of blackness into the netherworld. She felt a flood of relief when she realized Sesshoumaru had simply sliced through the front of his hoari, exposing Jaken's bare chest and rounded belly. In a movement almost too quick for human eyes to detect, he brought his sword up once again.

"Stop!"

Sesshoumaru paused, his arm frozen in mid-air. His sword, which once again reflected the brilliant morning sun back into Rin's eyes, was poised mere inches from Jaken's exposed abdomen.

Rin had scrambled to her feet again and grasped the sleeve of Sesshoumaru's raised sword arm before she even realizing what she was doing. She looked up at his face, searching for some trace of pity or compassion from amidst his stoic features. The three of them were completely still for one long, tense moment, unmoving except for the errant locks of black and silver hair ruffled by the breeze.

Rin's attention was briefly diverted by a flash of white as a particularly stout updraft of air sent Sesshoumaru's hair brushing lightly across her arm. When she looked up again, Sesshoumaru's eyes were closed. She felt him shift and suddenly his sleeve was jerked free of her hold. Rin could only stare as he walked slowly back in the direction of this quarters as if nothing of consequence had just occurred.

_Why is he simply leaving like that? He had been so angry before, at least he acted so. Has he forgiven us?_

Confusion added yet another dimension to the emotional tumult raging inside of her.

_Sesshoumaru-sama, there is nothing that Jaken or I would not do for you. _That thought she did not voice, though she may have wished so later.

Rin settled to her knees and prepared to tend Jaken's numerous wounds, thankful for the fact that his youkai nature would prevent any of those from ending his life. She placed her hand on his forehead in a tender gesture. His eyes were closed.

"Is he gone?" Jaken's voice was tremulous and rough.

Rin answered in the affirmative, reminding him to be still while she obtained the necessary medicinal herbs, clean water, and bandages.

As she stood to leave, Jaken opened his eyes and gave her a pained little smile.

"It was worth it."

"What?" Rin was perplexed by his sudden change in mood.

"Nothing."

Later, as she carefully applied an herbal remedy to the wound on Jaken's head, Rin could not help but wonder, a tad fearfully, if he were correct.

---------------------

Neither Jaken nor Rin saw Sesshoumaru again until the next day. He had disappeared shortly after the confrontation. In that time, Jaken had healed enough to walk about unassisted. When Sesshoumaru returned, he stood in front of his approaching master, staff in hand, looking his typical sycophantic self.

"We have missed you, milord."

Sesshoumaru did not spare him a glance as he brushed past the imp_, which was a great improvement over a violent assault_, Jaken thought resignedly.

The youkai lord stopped and faced both of his companions, his expression giving no hint as to his intentions. His companions were accustomed to such.

"It is time for Rin to return to her own kind."

The two looked on with equally dumbfounded expressions.

"W-what did you say, Sesshoumaru-sama," Jaken asked in a shaking voice which sounded strange even to his own ears.

The youkai ignored him and continued, "And it is time that she found a husband. A _human_ husband. She is past the age when human females usually do so."

Feeling completely helpless at the moment, Jaken looked over at Rin. The color had drained from her face. She swayed a little, looking as if she were about to faint. Jaken resisted the urge to reach out to steady her.

"Jaken, assist Rin in gathering her possessions. We will leave immediately."

At this, Rin whipped around and ran, sobbing, towards the tree-line. Both youkai stood side by side, watching the girl's flight, neither making a move to stop her. Finally, the proud inuyoukai nodded to the imp, who in turn scuttled off to Rin's quarters to gather her personal belongings.

The lord never took his eyes off of the wood's edge, as if keeping a silent vigil until the distressed girl should return. To any that might be schooled in reading his virtually unreadable features, it might be noted that his jaw line was uncharacteristically tense and his back slightly stiffer than usual. It was doubtful that the reason behind these anomalies in his expression and stance would ever be known. However, it could be assumed that his Ward and loyal retainer were not the only ones adversely affected by this sudden change of circumstance.

_AN: I intended to include Rin's new experiences in the human village in this chapter, but I'm too tired. I think I'll post this for now. I'm too tired to be funny. I know that Karite will be sorely disappointed._

_But I DO have time for review responses – yay! _

_GreaterbeastXellas: You have given me so much support and fanart and I thank you ever so much for that. You are a lovely person, really. Your support has kept me diligently and enthusiastically writing this fic when I would have either procrastinated or quit. (She has requested that the hate-mail for this be forwarded to my address. You should check out her inspired Strange Love and sexy Jaken fanart posted on LJ. She has also admitted to sleeping with teeth grinding in jealous anger her Jaken plushie. I realize that Jaken is awesome and I really shouldn't be jealous of this, but WAH! Greaterbeast, whether you chose me or Jaken, I'll always be there for you. sob _

_JACKALOBE: I have saved you for last because you left me, count them, 6 reviews! You rule. You are awesome! I will sing at your wedding. Threesome, you say? May be you and Lady Rhivna should start some sort of petition thingie. I enjoyed your reviews so much I squeed over it to all my friends. I love it how you say, _YOU SICK PERVERTED DAMN IDIOT! WHERE THE HELL DO YOU COME OFF WITH WRITING SUCH A PERVERTED STORY? WHAT IN HELL POSSESSED YOU? AND WHY DOESN'T JAKEN BEING GAY SURPRISE ME? GOD DAMN YOU! I AM DISGUSTED!

_That sort of thing just gets me, you know hits chest right there. As far as getting pelted with rocks for encouraging me, your bravery is inspiring. You should wear protective body armor like I do! I started after the first Rin/Sess fanatic tried to run me through with her homemade, plastic 'tenseiga'. Don't laugh, plastic can leave nasty scratches._

_Thanks again for the lovely reviews/flames. kiss,kiss_


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha._

_Warning: Implied violence, language (in the AN mostly, heh) and sexual references._

Rin hung her head dejectedly as the three companions and Ah-Un trudged down the forest path towards the human village. Rather, Jaken and Rin trudged and scuffled their feet while Sesshoumaru made his way as gracefully and confidently as ever, as was befitting of his station as a lord. Rin knew that they were nearing their destination by the way that Jaken wrinkled his nose in a disapproving gesture as he caught wind of the encampment. She also knew that Sesshoumaru would have scented the village much sooner; however his face was now as unreadable as she had ever known it to be. He simply marched forward perfunctorily, looking to Rin as if he could very well be sleep-walking. Considering the fact that she never did see her master sleep, this might very well be possible. She would have to ask Jaken about it later.

_But there will be no more' later'; I will never see Jaken or my Lord again once we arrive in the village. _

This reminder brought the sting of tears to her eyes once again.

_No, I refuse to shed more tears now. There will be ample time to cry when they are gone. _

If her master's words were true, and she had no reason to doubt them, these were to be her last moments with her _family_. Rin had been thinking of them as family ever since they had accepted her into their wandering little group. She assumed that they also felt similarly although Jaken, especially, had seemed to fight this for a year or so. It had taken quite some time for a seemingly useless human child to inspire that protective, nurturing instinct which had been buried somewhere deep inside of the toad-ish youkai. Yet finally, even young Rin had worked her way into his strange little heart and he, in turn, became much enamored of the girl, taking pleasure in instructing her in her lessons, as well as their near constant verbal sparring.

Perhaps it was this very sparring which had caused something _more_ to spark between the two of them. It had encouraged a rivalry of sorts for their master's affection, rather like a sibling rivalry.

Rin blanched at that thought. _As if the details of my and Jaken's affair were not troublesome enough already, I have to begin comparing him to a brother. _

Her thoughts turned to Sesshoumaru. He had accepted her from the beginning, it seemed, if you could call it that. A more accurate description would be that he took responsibility for her as soon as she began to follow him. He clothed her, protected her, and occasionally engaged her in polite conversation. Rin suspected that he did the later in order to periodically confirm that her education-level and manners were as they should be. Thus, he had taken a personal interest in her well-being and her instruction, albeit in his own detached fashion. On the whole, however, he had conducted himself impeccably as her guardian.

She could never be absolutely sure, but above all of this she believed that he cared for her.

However, this could very well be a product of her vivid imagination.

Still, why would he have reacted in this way, as abhorrent as the resulting separation might be, if he did not care for her? Her dalliance with Jaken had obviously inspired a strong enough reaction_, nay, a strong enough feeling_, that he would resort to drastic measures to separate himself from thus. He cared enough to be angry, and seemingly hurt and highly jealous of the fact that his trusted companions were committing these acts behind his back.

She realized that this could very well be the reason behind Sesshoumaru's looking especially stoic on this day. He was attempting to conceal his sudden influx of emotion. Still, if this was the only way to garner proof of his affection, she would rather that she was left in the dark.

They continued towards the village in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, except presumably Ah Un, who was pleasantly oblivious.

Rin lay across a worn futon, staring up at the ceiling with tears streaming down her cheeks. She was already sniffling uncontrollably from her constant weeping. Her kimono, if you could call the rags in which she was forced to clothe herself by such a pleasantry, was tossed unceremoniously on the floor at the end of the bed. The village headwoman had taken possession of her finely made kimonos which she had brought with her, all gifts from Sesshoumaru-sama. Normally, she would have protested, threatening the headwoman with harsh rebuttals from her (former) protectors. But now she cared little, having retreated into her own little world. Rin attempted to ignore the villagers' unfair treatment and hurtful words. She had been somewhat successful in this endeavor until just a few days ago.

You see, it was difficult to ignore a drunken, naked man who was lying directly to your left with his right hand draped across your stomach. Ignoring this man was made substantially more difficult by the fact that this man was now your husband. Apparently she was to be made a useful part of the village by becoming a bride to the village drunk.

_There is someone for everyone, after all, _the village headwoman had whispered, cackling, into her ear the night of her wedding.

Rin's new husband mumbled something intelligible in his sleep. She edged another inch away from him, not desiring even the slightest contact with the man beside her. She turned to her side and curled herself into a ball with her arms wrapped around her knees. The position might be somewhat comforting if it were not for the fact that it exposed the sticky wetness coating her inner thighs to the night's chill.

She should get up off the futon and wash off. She really should. But she cared little for such minor discomforts at the moment. She did not feel at all like moving from this spot. _What would be the point really?_ Her life was already ruined_. She was ruined_. After the first night, she had not spurned his advances. What was the use? He was her husband and had every right to take her as often as he wished.

It was disgusting, his taste, his reek, his pawing hands, the slick feel of his bare sweating chest against her.

_He fumbled around in the darkness, jerking the outer layer of her dress off her shoulder and splaying his wet tongue against her neck. She fought the urge to retch. _

_She had thrilled at the touch of Jaken's long, inhuman tongue and yet she was repulsed by the spongy feel of this all too human tongue. Logically, this did not make sense. Yet she found that imagining Jaken's ugliness in place of this man's putrid advances gave her some relief from the nausea and disgust that continued to rise as he continued to peel her clothing off, tossing it hither and thither onto the dirty floor. Imagining Jaken in his place worked like a charm, actually, until he began to speak. _

_"Did yer pretty white youkai touch you like this," he slurred drunkenly, taking another swig from the glass positioned precariously on the edge of a stool. "I'll bet he never did THIS." The man, her husband, bent down and pressed his thick tongue, cold from the alcohol, across her bare skin. Rin swooned in reaction, but not from pleasure. She wanted to disappear into the floor below. She wanted to separate herself from her body. She would give anything in the world not to have to be aware of what he was doing to her, THIS DISGUSTING HUMAN MALE! _

Rin weakly pushed herself up. Perhaps it would make her better to clean the filth off of her after all. She finally stood, swaying a little. She glanced down at the man at her feet. _Filth,_ she thought once again. _After this experience I shall never again feel ashamed of my tryst with Jaken. Sex with the imp was passionate, beautiful; all this is made especially clear when I compare it to this horrid act. _

A plan was slowly forming in her mind as Rin absentmindedly washed the insides of her thighs again and again. It was not until daylight that she quitted these ministrations. Even so, she felt unclean still.

She also did not realize that someone had been watching her from the trees the entire time.

Jaken had been lurking about the village, monitoring the goings-on there, for several days. _Humans and their annoying, ignorant babbling. If I have to hear any more superstitious nonsense about tea leaves or the human female's menstrual flow affecting the crop harvest one more time, I will kill myself. _Jaken grunted to himself in frustration and shifted in his hiding place. He was stiff and sore from immobility, but he could not move much during the daylight hours for fear of discovery.

Even given all of these minor irritations, there was no where that he would rather be. He worried for his Rin. His master apparently worried for his Rin as well, which is precisely why he was there.

He need not have worried. Rin was treated rather well, considering the barbarity of the human race and except for the fact that she was now clothed in rags. So far there had been not spitting or stoning, of which Jaken was much surprised. _It must be out of fear of reprisal from Sesshoumaru-sama_, Jaken surmised, knowing all too well that the only thing that villagers despised more than a youkai was a human who had willingly fraternized with youkai.

To his surprise, the humans seemed to accept Rin, even to the point of arranging a husband for her from among the single village males, which consisted of two elderly humans and a young drunk. Jaken had not expected something of this sort to happen so soon. _Rin must be thrilled_, he thought, not a little jealously.

On her wedding night, Jaken stealthily approached the outer wall of the room in which Rin and her new human 'husband', _the very word sent shivers of disgust through the imp_, had since retired for the evening. He was thankful that all that seemed to be transpiring within the hut was heavy drinking. It reeked of alcohol. Rin's new husband exited the hut twice, presumably in search of more drink. Jaken was pleased to find that Rin was as of yet, untouched. Still, he could not expect the human male to ignore his lovely new bride on his wedding night. Jaken knew that the human would take her soon.

He waited, listening.

The more he thought about the human with Rin, the angrier the imp became. Jaken's fists clenched and were shaking noticeably. His breathing was erratic and he felt the urge to yell out some sort of battle cry and burst in upon the newly married couple.

When had he become so angry, so jealous, so possessive of _his Rin?_ This scarcely suppressed rage surprised him. Despite their history together, she was a human and was now married to a human male. What claim did he have on the girl? Was it that he had given Rin her first sexual experience, that he had deflowered her? At this point, Jaken noted that the human male had exited the hut once again, and his shoulders relaxed, pleased that the man's stink was no longer in close proximity to Rin. His thoughts turned to sex once again, but this time, he was imagining himself with the young woman.

The image of Rin beneath him, moaning in pleasure as he strained against her in order to penetrate her more deeply than ever flashed through his mind. At this, the imp a shivered in pleasure and a secretive smile crept over his face. _I would have liked to have tried that with Rin_, that is, if he could ever coerce her to willingly lay with him again. He felt he had been lucky so far in that regard.

Yes it had been all worth it for the imp. Never in his many years of serving his lord would he have imagined himself saying such a thing. Sesshoumaru-sama had not even spared him a glance since the inu-youkai had discovered his and Rin's dirty little secret. Pre-Rin, Jaken would have quailed at the very thought of displeasing his master, fearing either abandonment or a swift deathblow. But after many years serving the dog lord, he had learned that Sesshoumaru would eventually seek to resume his _modus operandi_. His Lord desired routine and thrived on the domestic routine which he, and later Rin, had provided through the years.

And then there was Rin. Though his time with Rin had been short by comparison, however Jaken had also learned much of the workings of the heart through studying her, and ultimately through caring for her himself.

The first major revelation that Jaken gained from Rin's presence was the fact that, despite his stoic demeanor, Sesshoumaru-sama was not as cold as he would like those around him to believe. This might come as a shock to any that knew the dog lord, and it _had _taken quite some time for this new aspect of his master's personality to grow on the imp. Part of the lure of Sesshoumaru-sama had been that he seemed a complete and utter void of emotional influence. He appeared pure and untouched by the rest of the world. His very influence was calming. This equaniminous influence had enabled the imp to follow his master into some downright terrifying situations, even to the point of passing into the netherworld world close at his side.

Thus it was that after over a century of serving his lord, Jaken learned an unsettling truth – Sesshoumaru-sama did feel. He hid his feelings well, he did, but actions do speak louder than words. Specifically, his actions towards Rin. His master took care of the little girl, doting on her, in his own detached fashion, through lessons, fine clothing, and, most importantly, an unwillingness to separate from her. The inuyoukai would go to great lengths to stay near to the girl. Jaken knew that this meant that beneath that icy exterior, Sesshoumaru-sama cared. And by applying the same logical deduction to himself, Jaken realized that Sesshoumaru must care for him as well. Jaken had made countless stupid, stupid mistakes in his service to his retainer—losing Rin, the inability to carry out plans and orders in accordance to Sesshoumaru's will and so on. Yet, he had not been slain or beaten senseless (often). He had even slept with Rin and his master had spared his life. It was unthinkable, but only if you did not know the inuyoukai as Jaken did. Jaken loved him all the more for it.

And thus, Jaken knew that his master would eventually deign to stop ignoring him and would forgive his overstepping of his limits.

Jaken had been lost in his thoughts for quite some time when he realized that there was a struggle going on inside the hut beside which he hid. He leaned in, trying to determine the source, a little fearful of what he might learn.

"Was wrong with you, wench," the man was slurring badly, "you won't sit in yer husband's lap, you won't kiss me?" His voice was rising in anger now, causing Jaken to cringe, not in fear for himself, but for Rin. Jaken could hear more commotion, and concluded that the man was now staggering about the room, "You are mine now, you here. I'll make you forget about that youkai-filth for good." He heard a loud _slap_ and someone tumbled to the floor, presumably Rin.

Jaken wanted to rush in, to grab Rin, burn the ugly human to ashes and escape with her into the woods. He loathed the fact that this man had any such right to touch Rin, and especially that he might hurt her. He desired, with all his heart, to help her.

But he did not.

Jaken was under strict orders not to interfere, no matter what. He would not, could not, directly disobey the will of his master. He had to keep reminding himself that his master had chosen this fate for his ward, as he had every right to do, and that Rin's new husband had every right to use her body as he saw fit.

But it filled his mind with rage nonetheless. He could feel his youki rising, a natural reaction as it was feeding off of hisbuilding anger and hatred towards the human. This battle of wills was only making things worse.

Due to the influence of his expanding youki, baser emotions began to stir in the darker corners of his mind. Lust for blood. Lust for sex.

The more he tried to repress his violent urges, encouraged by the sounds of struggle in the background, the more overpowering his youki became. Soon, his mind was clouded with sadistic yearnings, overriding his normally calm nature.

_I would tear him limb from limb, eating his eyes and splattering his blood. _

_Only I should be able to commit such acts against Rin. Only I should own her. Only I should force her. _

These thoughts were followed by lustful imaginings of Rin and himself. His rising youki was gaining the upper hand now, leaving his darker nature free reign to utilize his imagination.

He was a youkai, after all. It was his very nature to enjoy violence and the pain of others, though he normally suppressed this part of himself.

The little voice in his head continued its lusty diatribe. _I should be the one in there now, the one shoving my human bitch to the ground to grovel before me. How many times has she avoided my advances? I would not allow her to do so ever again. I would take her, and she would scream, oh yes. I would punish her for her audacity. I would take her over and over until she knew exactly who her true master was. Soon she would be screaming my name and begging and pleading for more. _

A battle raged inside Jaken's lust-clouded mind. He was very close to losing control and attacking the human male but he was beyond caring. He peeked through one of the window slits with newly found bravado. Rin was completely nude underneath the grunting, sweating human. Her face was turned away in the opposite direction. She lay there limply, eyes closed as if unconscious, but Jaken knew by her rapid breaths and fear-drenched scent that she was awake and aware.

Despite himself, the submissiveness of Rin's pose beneath the human only excited him more. He growled a low, deep growl, thoughts of Rin submitting to his own attentions filling his mind.

_She should be mine_! A voice raged inside his head. His anger boiled inside and Jaken was no longer aware of himself. He bent over in a low crouch, his hunched stance looking positively ominous, his claws extended and a mad look to his now red-tinted eyes. He growled again and, in a flash, was at the door of the hut.

A moment later Jaken was on him, ripping him off of Rin and slamming him back against the adjacent wall in an uncharacteristic show of strength. The man slumped to the floor, unconscious.

Jaken stood there, breathing heavily with his sharp teeth bared and hands balled up into tight fists.

He glanced down at the prone girl, and his shoulders slumped. He seemed to diminish.

Jaken bent down, his raging youki now dispersing as quickly as it had overtaken him. He cupped Rin's face in his hand gingerly, carefully tilting it towards him. Her eyes were closed now. She must have swooned directly before the human took her. For that, Jaken was glad. Stroking her face gently now, he wanted to take Rin with him very badly. Despite his previous dark violent thoughts due to his rise in youki, he loved Rin. In his normal state of mind, his only thought was to care for her. He would never hurt his Rin.

His eyes were sad as he left the hut. _But at least that animal is off of her, my beautiful Rin._ _I require time to think this through. We will see what tomorrow brings, at least. _

And with that, he left her, as it were, unaware of his intervention or his tender ministrations.

Rin's new husband woke with a pounding head, wondering why he was sleeping by the far wall of the hut. Grunting and groaning at his sore muscles, he vowed to give up the drink then and there. And that he did, for several hours.

-----------------------

_AN: And you thought this was bad, you should see what's on AFF. _

_Alright you guys. I want to make it to 50 reviews in this chapter! I'm counting on YOU. I have 7 more to go and then I'll be there. 50 - YAHOO! _

_Jakolobe: I have nominated you as leaving the longest review EVER. I posted it on my LJ and everyone was very impressed. _

_GreaterbeastXellas: I'm sorry I haven't gotten poor Rin out of the village yet. I tried, but something kept telling me this chapter was finished. Thanks for your support. YOU are a doll. YOUR fanart never ceases to inspire me. _

_If you guys are old enough, take a look at it on the Jakensmut livejournal community. It's lovely. _

_Lady Rhiyana: Thanks for the review and flame combo –the best of both worlds, really! I love the way you think, btw, so evil. _

_Kougafan4ever: STILL I am trying to think of someway to get Kouga and Jaken together. It's so hard. Why must you inspire me to do something so damn difficult! _

_You said: __I'd say I hate you but you like flames. Me: You are too kind. _

_hieiluva: Short and sweet, just fine. _

_Remember, I want to be at 50 reviews by the morrow, you guys --so get started! I promise not to bother you about reviews after this. It's just that the number 50 excites me so. _

_OH and since this fic is nearing completion, any fun ideas for the future are welcome. I'll owe you one. _

_p.s. yeah, yeah, almost forgot, you people are sick. _


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha_

There was no campfire that evening. Instead, the two youkai sat across from one another in semi-darkness of the moonlight night. The moonlight filtered through the thick canopy of Magnolia branches above to cast eerie shadows over the forest floor.

Jaken shifted uncomfortably. He had spent the day stuck up in a tree, trying to catch a glimpse of Rin as she made several trips back and forth to the village well, her shoulders sagging beneath the unaccustomed weight of the water vessels. Once Rin had completed her task and moved out of sight, Jaken scrambled down from the tree intent on following her from a safe distance.

This is where his troubles began. He came face to face with a snarling, slavering dog.

Jaken knew this dog, but he was terrified nonetheless. It was a stray village mutt, which Rin had been feeding. The dog had apparently been quite taken with the young woman and began following her about. Now the dog felt it was obviously its duty to protect her against all dangers, both real and imagined.

The dog inched forward, growling. So it was that Jaken found himself in a strangely familiar situation. Before he had time to consider the irony of his second dog attack involving Rin in the past few months, the mutt lunged with surprising speed and he jumped back, but not quickly enough. It caught the back of his Hakama in its teeth.

"Get off! Get off me you filthy cur!" Jaken jumped around, pulling the dog along like a passenger. The mongrel began to shake its head wildly, evidently not content to simply go along for the ride. His actions knocked the imp off balance and sent him rolling to the ground.

Fortunately for the imp, the dog went rolling in the opposite direction. In seconds, both parties recovered their footing, but the dog seemed even angrier than before. And so, he did as any good imp would—he scampered back up the tree so quickly that the dog forgot to look menacing for a moment. It perked up its ears, a look of consternation gracing its canine features. Soon, however, the dog once again caught Jaken's scent and, after giving a tentative _sniff_, he located the imp in the tree above and let out another warning growl.

_That is one ugly mutt_, Jaken thought, braver now that there was some distance between himself and the creature. He felt the back of his pants, relived to find that they were not ripped.

Jaken was stuck in the tree for several hours. The sun had dipped just under the horizon, lighting the sky in a blaze of red before the cursed dog finally fell asleep. He quietly slipped down the trunk and onto the ground, slinking away into the forest to search for Sesshoumaru-sama.

After a brief search, he located his master and reported the latest details of Rin's stay at the village. Sesshoumaru-sama stared silently off into the distance above Jaken's head, not seeming to listen. Jaken knew better, having learned the hard way that the stoic youkai never missed a detail of what was going on around him. When Jaken had no more information to give, the two simply sat in silence as the forest grew darker.

The imp waited for his master to speak, to gesture, or give some indication of his wishes. He was to have a long wait.

Sesshoumaru continued staring off into the distance. An air of melancholy seemed to settle about the pair mimicking the gathering gloom of the dark forest. Jaken relaxed and his thoughts began to drift from the situation at hand—Rin, the village mutt, their separation. He took the chance to slyly study his beautiful master, whose sumptuously long hair seemed to glow with an almost ghostly light from the shadows. Jaken's gaze moved to his face, which appeared ashen except for the deep indigo of his markings. During the day, these markings were quite colorful and attractive, Jaken had always thought, but the dim light had sapped all color from his master's form. In no way did this detract from Sesshoumaru's ethereal beauty.

Jaken was nearly drowning in feelings of adoration. It was not often he allowed himself free rein to fully appreciate the finer qualities of his powerful master. He found his golden eyes are entrancing, they disruptedthe inuyoukai's pale façade with their intense blaze of color_. There was something different about my master's eyes his night, _he was surprised to note.Normally these unsettling eyes seemed flat, devoid of any expression. Tonight, the seemed more akin to windows, showing more depth than Jaken had ever seen. _Yes now,_ _there seems to be something swirling in those amber-tinted orbs. Something that I might be more accustomed to seeing in Rin's eyes, rather than my inexpressive master's._

Jaken narrowed his eyes and leaned forward reflexively, studying this unusual lapse in the inuyoukai's detached manner. This movement startled Sesshoumaru out of his thoughts and he looked up and straight into the imp's eyes.

Jaken almost swooned.

It was one thing to admire his master while detached and impeccably composed. The look in his eyes at the moment was very different from anything the imp had witnessed before. Sesshoumaru's eyes had a lost, unsure look. He looked for all the world like a frustrated teenager. Jaken found this highly appealing and resisted the sudden urge to reach out and stroke the inuyoukai's perfect cheek in a comforting gesture. His fingers twitched and a thrill shot through him at the mere thought of such an indulgence. Sesshoumaru looked so vulnerable, causing all the imp's suppressed urges to show love and affection to well up in his chest, threatening to spill forth from his lips in entreaties of undying love and bad poetry.

Knowing this was not the moment to force himself on his master, Jaken stamped down these urges. Instead, he smiled knowingly, going so far as to even gaze brazenly back into those turbulent amber depths. Many months prior, the imp would not have thought of doing such a thing, but this ordeal had shaken him to the core. It came as a surprise to himself that he now felt more secure, rather than less, of his place beside his master, perhaps due to a few choice revelations about the inuyoukai of late. The inuyoukai was schooled in battle and strategy, Jaken realized, but not how to deal with his own errant emotions. It was actually quite endearing.

As quickly as the moment had begun, it ended as Sesshoumaru set his lips into a tight scowl and turned away. It was as if a doorway had slammed shut in Jaken's face. His face was once again devoid of expression.

Not wishing to embarrass his master, Jaken frantically attempted to sort out this new development in his head.

_Milord realized that he has made a grave mistake and is now suffering for it. _

Jaken knew the inuyoukai was proud and may not readily admit this.

_My perfect master, my poor, perfect master, it must be hard for him to admit this blunder._

The master he knew and loved did not make 'blunders'.

_Still, if he wants his little family back... _

The imp knew his master would contend that he needed no one.

_No, no, no, I believe that he is willing to make a concession._

Grasping at this tenuous hope, Jaken bolted upright before he lost his nerve and headed in the direction of the human village. Sesshoumaru did not look his way. Jaken took this as a good sign.

The full moon inspired restlessness among humans and youkai alike. Perhaps it was the full moon that had Rin plotting and planning as well.

_I'll not spend another night next to this drunken lout._

She crept slowly past the storage buildings which bordered the outskirts of the village. It was a surprisingly simple task, since she was accustomed to dealing with the more acute senses of youkai. Walking unnoticed out of a sleeping human village was much easier than say, sneaking away from Jaken in her mischief-prone early years.

When she had reached the edge of the trees, Rin paused wondering if she should not return to the village before her absence was noticed. _Where is it that I think that I am going? Sesshoumaru-sama has sent me away. I cannot simply show up and ask him to change his mind, or can I?_

She lowered her head until her face was entirely obscured by the dense ebony mane flowing loose about her shoulders. For a moment she might have been mistaken as a wraith or evil spirit by the villagers below as she stood, looking heartbreakingly forlorn, keeping a silent sentry over the human village below.

_I have been alone before, and it was better than this._

Rin raised her head, an expression of determination hardening her features, her lips set into a hard, thin line, all reminiscent of her former master. She disappeared into the woods.

As she wandered farther and farther from the village, Rin's spirits began to lift and she gave in to the childish urge to skip through the colorful fallen leaves carpeting the forest floor. After so many months, she was feeling like herself again. Her only regret now was that she had not left much sooner.

Jaken had been horrified to find Rin's quarters empty and her husband staggering about outside their hovel, calling her name.

_AN: Yay! I am so proud to have topped 50 reviews. Reviewers, you have made me so very happy. kiss, kiss_

_Athelgar: You are my hero! Congrats on being review number 50 (um, was that a sympathy review? Well, I don't care, what the hell...50 yaaaaaay, 50!)_

_GreaterbeastXellas: Yes, here it is! Thanks for your encouragement over e-mail and on Livejournal. You've been great, as well as providing Jaken smut which has been a source of inspiration and enough to make even my eyes pop out! sweeps her off her feet and spins around_

_You Know Who: Cthuhlu, is that you?_

_Jakalobe: I am so impressed by your reviewing skills that I'm planning on printing out and framing your review, right next to my picture of Jaken eating a muffaletta. I'll leave it to you to plan Jaken's bachelor party. Parrrrty! You provide me with not one, but TWO lovely flames. And you have split personalities to boot! I'm a big fan of alter-egoscough, cough You pull itoff gloriously. I think that you should write reviews professionally. That or see a professional. Ha! hugs_

_Lady Rhiyana: Jaken as the brother! You apparentlyhave as many issues as I do! I liked your term, 'predatory-jaken'. Heh._

_Kerrigan: Yes, short and sweet (coming from you)._

_Kougafan4ever: Glad that Rin and Jaken have stopped doing it! Muhahaha! I need to send you the link over e-mailfor this story over e-mail. Then you will see the REALsmut.Oh and I promised you a story/one-shot, didn't I?_

_Purplelizard: Good to see you again! Glad you're still with us (even till the end)._

_Note: Last chapter, coming up next!_


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha _

_Attn: I uploaded two chapters at once - Chapters 11 and 12, so, a few repeat readers may have simply skipped to the last chapter (leaving you a little confused). Go back one chapter and read it before reading this one! I know that I've done the same when authors update with multible chapters. _

_Warning: Sexual content, language, and the last chapter of this story!_

_(this is the end, beautiful friend...)_

Jaken had been horrified to find Rin's quarters empty and her husband staggering about outside their hovel, calling her name.

_What had happened, _Jaken wondered fearfully. Was he perhaps too late?

He felt numb as he slipped into the forest, not even bothering to check the area for the attack dog from the previous day.

_Have I come too late? Rin, my dear Rin, where are you?_

Visions of everything from youkai attacks, bandits, to accidental drowning all flashed through his head. Rin had always had a penchant for getting herself into trouble.

Jaken moved through the trees at a brisk pace, wondering if he should go to Sesshoumaru-sama with his little problem. After a short deliberation, he decided against this course of action since he was fairly certain his master's voyage into the emotive waters of the soul would not be long-lived. If he were to find Rin and reinstate their little human successfully back into to their little group, his chances of success would be greatly improved if he worried his master as little as possible with the messy details.

And he would not lose Rin again, not while there was still a chance.

_His Rin._ His Rin had made him a better imp, a stronger imp. He would do anything for her, even if it meant…

Would he even be willing to leave Sesshoumaru-sama to be with Rin?

_Yes, anything_, a part of him demanded. Another part was not so sure of this, but it was still enough. He charged ahead. He would stop at nothing to save his beautiful Rin.

All the rest of the night and well into the next day Jaken followed what he believed to be Rin's trail through the forest. Since his olfactory senses were not well-developed, he relied mainly on his knowledge of Rin's habits, his visual tracking skills, and, of course, his gut instincts.

Needless to say, he was far away from the path Rin had taken into the forest. To make matters worse, he had gotten himself lost as well.

Fortunately, Rin's wilderness skills were slightly better. She had doubled back in search of the familiar pathways which might lead her to her former master and his retainer and her current course, with any luck, should lead her straight across the imp's path.

Jaken lay sprawled across the wide, mossy roots of a cedar tree, snoring loudly. It was early afternoon and sunlight dappled the forest floor. Having fallen asleep just before dawn, the imp slumbered away, oblivious to the noon-time sun.

His fingers twitched and he shifted his head. He was dreaming.

…_Lord Jaken, leader of the imps, had just returned from a great battle against the dreaded goblin tribe. Stumbling across the threshold of the leader's hut, he was met by a familiar voice as well as the pleasant smell of cooked lizard. _

"_Jaken-sama," Rin turned from her cooking and bowed low to him as he stood in the doorway, "I hope that you have fared well in your campaign. We are so lucky to have someone as brave, intelligent, powerful, brilliant, …."_

_She continued on like this for some time before the imp saw fit to interrupt her praise_, "_Rin, my love, you are too kind. Save your breath. The only thanks I require is to find you waiting here at the end." He then gave her a lecherous wink, "That, and perhaps a kiss, my lovely princess." _

"_How about something even better," Rin replied saucily and proceeded to let her kimono drop to the floor. She wore nothing underneath. _

"_Ah, w-well now, OH, y-yes. This is much better than a kiss," Jaken stuttered, his eyes bulging out of his head. _

_Rin waggled her hips in a very alluring but very unRin-like fashion, "come and get it, big boy."_

_The imp stepped forward and pulled the nude young woman against him, "Don't tease me, wench."_

"_Lord Imp, you haven't seen anything yet."_

_She ever so slowly lowered herself until she was kneeling before him. After a brief shuffling of clothing, his pants were tugged down to his knees and Rin leaned forward eagerly. _

"_Aaaah." Jaken threw his head back in blissful abandon, entangling his fingers in her raven locks as she….._

"Jaken!"

…_entangling his fingers in her soft, raven locks as she began to…_

"Jaken, Jaken! Wake up! It's Rin."

_Dammit why can't they just let him sleep for a minute longer! … she began to sensually move her head up and…_

"Jaken, wake up." A pair of strong hands gripped his shoulders and shook him violently.

"Just one more minute, Sesshoumaru-sama," Jaken murmured, clenching his eyes shut and willing himself back to sleep.

_...The Lord Imp gasped in pleasure, and suddenly another figure, clad all in white, stepped across the threshold. " I also hope to be of service to you, Lord Jaken," Sesshoumaru-sama intoned, "allow me to drop my robes and then I, too, will drop to my knees before you." The inuyoukai's clawed hand began tugging off his robes…_

SPLASH!

"Arrrg!"

Jaken's dreamworld fantasies faded before his mind's eye as freezing cold water ran over his cheeks and down his back. In their place stood Rin, her face smudged with travel dust and her kimono ripped in several places. _Not in any of the_ _right places, however, _a lecherous voice from the back of his mind observed.

Jaken stood up and shook his head in attempt to rid himself of his sleep-time alter-ego, spraying water in all directions.

"Jaken, stop it, you're getting me all wet."

"And how is it that I have come to be wet in the first place."

"You wouldn't awaken. I was worried."

"So you doused me with icy cold water," he replied acidly, still slightly bitter that his dream had been interrupted twice during the best parts.

Rin giggled and hugged the imp to her, wet clothes and all.

Jaken's irritation melted away as she pulled him close in a tender gesture. He sighed and relaxed into her embrace. Her arms felt so warm and comforting. Somehow, he no longer minded not having finished the dream after all. He would gladly choose this reality over smut-filled fantasy any day.

"It's good to have you back, Rin."

"Am I back?"

"Trust me, Rin, trust me."

Imp and human stood in front of their master in the pouring rain. The rain had begun shortly before they arrived back at the camp. If the gloomy weather were any sign of things to come, it did not bode well.

_I don't think I've ever felt so nervous in my entire life, _Rin thought as her stomach completed a series of nervous flip-flops under Sesshoumaru-sama's fierce, cold gaze. His amber eyes seemed the only hue not washed gray and dismal by the steady rain. They seemed to blaze with an unknown emotion for a brief moment, which she could only pray was not anger. Jaken had asked her to trust him, but now looking into those cold eyes it seemed so hopeless. Jaken covered her hand in his own an squeezed it comfortingly. He seemed to be waiting for something.

However, Rin could wait not any longer, her nerves were already fraying at the edges.

"Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin began softly, "I know it is your wish that I live with my own kind, but…."

Suddenly, Rin was at a loss of words and her master did not look in the least moved.

_After all of my longing, all of my pain, all of my homesickness, why should I now be unable to speak of my deep love for the two youkai who stand before me. I am unable to declare my need to be welcomed once again back with my lord and Jaken. This is my only chance and I can't go back. _

Warm tears streamed down her checks, mixing with the cool raindrops there. She must try.

Jaken squeezed her hand once again. He gave her a small, reassuring smile, but she paid him no heed. A feeling of panic was rising in her chest.

Pulling from the imps grasp, Rin threw herself forward, grasping Sesshoumaru-sama's hoari tightly in her fists and began sobbing against his chest. As before, the inuyoukai stood there stiffly, unresponsive.

Gripping his hoari tighter, Rin felt despair creep into her heart. He was not responding. He was likely repulsed by her uncontrollable sobbing and sickening display of emotion. He would throw her off of him any second now and he and Jaken would walk out of her life again.

This time, it would be forever.

That thought pierced her heart, causing her to begin whimpering hysterically.

"Se-seshoumaruu-samaaa," Rin wailed pitifully, "I'm so sorry. Please, I'll do anything, just take me back. I love you. I love Jaken. I promise...," she grasped as straws, reverting to a childlike state in her panic, " I promise to be good. Don't leave me, Sesshoumaru-sama!"

Rin slumped against her master, still sobbing. A black despair settled over her heart and she waited for the moment when she would be ripped away from her master and left, alone and crying, in the rain.

She cringed as she felt a clawed hand against the back of her head. _I have so offended my lord that he would kill me for it. It this is to be my fate, then so be it, _she thought with feeling of acceptance tinged with fear.

But his hand simply rested gently against her hair. After a few moments, his fingers began moving back and forth over her head in what could only be a comforting gesture.

_Does my Sesshoumaru-sama still want me after all? _A flood of relief warmed Rin's stricken heart and mind and she sighed contentedly against her master as he continued his gentle ministrations. _Trust me Rin, _Jaken's words came back to her in a rush. She turned her head slightly, peeking at the imp. He looked positively triumphant.

"Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama,' she whispered into his hoari, "Thank you, Jaken."

The next day, the sun was shining brightly in the clear blue sky as if there had been no drenching rain the night before. An air of contentment settled over the motley group of travelers –inuyoukai, imp, and the young human riding astride a dragon-steed—as they made their way towards home. You would not know by looking at the inyoukai lord who strode several paces in front, his expression was as cold as stone. However, the girl and imp both positively glowed with good humor.

Rin clasped her kimono tightly around her shoulders, but the chill found its way to her bare skin nonetheless. She hardly noticed the cold. She was lost in her memories. The three of them had made so many journeys through the years. It felt right for them all to be traveling together once again. She glanced at the imp walking below. Jaken had always provided a welcome sparring partner and, often, comic relief. _I wonder….Things are so happy now, things are back to normal. We are all back together again. Does that mean that Jaken and I will eventually fall back into having more…. intimate relations again? _The thought made her face redden in embarrassment.

Feeling a pair of eyes boring into the top of his head, Jaken looked up and caught Rin's questioning gaze. _By the intense look in her eyes and the blushto her cheeks, she can only be thinking about one thing…. _A smirk worked at the corners of his mouth.

Jaken winked.

Rin blushed again.

And the three travelers continued on their way.

THE END

_AN: Yep, the end. All right now Rin/Sess fans, call off your curses. I've stopped writing this fic. It's over. I'm tired of being ill and diseased. Please, I promise to even write a Rin/Sess in the future if I ever get well! The train wreck is now at an end. Passengers, are you all okay? I know you've all been picturing me writing this with a maniacal smile on my face 'must.write.more.jaken.rin.pairing.muhahaha.' But in all actuality, I have done it all for you, my reviewers._

_As for the rest of you, sniff, sniff I love you all, sickos, readers, chums._


End file.
